Open Source

Introduction I’m Prajwal, and this is the story of my journey from a small village in Karnataka to being a Google Summer of Code contributor with the Apache Software Foundation. This is not a tale of overnight success, but one of struggle, perseverance, and the transformative power of open source. I hope my story can guide and inspire students who are on a similar path. Humble Beginnings and a Spark of Interest I come from a small village called Kuppinakeri in Karnataka. My parents are farmers, and I grew up in a humble environment. After scoring 86% in my 10th grade in 2020, I got into Morarji Desai PU college, a government institution that provided free education. This was my first time living in a hostel. My elder brother, Guru Prasanna, who works at Morgan Stanley, has been my guiding light. On his advice, I chose PCMCs (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science) over PCMB. It was here that my love for computer science, particularly C++, began to blossom, thanks to my supportive lecturer, Sanjay sir. ...

After I shared my journey to GSoC, many aspiring students reached out with the same questions: What exactly is open source? What is GSoC? And how can I get started? This post is for you. It’s the guide I wish I had when I was just starting out. What is Open Source? Imagine a chef has a secret recipe for a fantastic dish. In the normal world (called “closed source”), they keep that recipe locked away. You can buy the dish, but you can never see how it’s made. ...