email: mesutcank@gmail.com

irc nickname: mesutcan, mesutcank

xmpp: mesutcank@gmail.com / mesutcank@jabber.org

address: Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University Bilgi Islem Daire Baskanligi Terzioglu Kampusu 17100 Canakkale, Turkey

I'm currently a 4th grade computer engineering undergraduate student at Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University in Turkey. I'm interested in compilers, games and operating systems. Also helping free software projects. I'm a student member of FSF.

Me and my roommate coded a version control system in Java with Test Driven Development [1]. I'm a developer of Pardus Linux (currently maintaining 65 packages).

I was in a team who ported Pardus Corporate 2 to 64 bit and I was in a team called as COMAK: bringing other window managers (other than KDE since Pardus is KDE-based distro) to Pardus Linux. Such as Fluxbox, LXDE, XFCE, Enlightenment, Gnome, Gnome3. I've released Fluxbox based Pardus (like fluxbuntu) and managed releasing jobs and other things like writing requiring scripts for server-side or developing (packaging scripts in this team. You can found them in my git repository [5] (the repo named as general).

I also talked about Linux, Free Softwares at 5 different Universities in Turkey and gave a Python course. I worked on Debian Packages 4 years ago and still working on it. Since 2008, I'm working at My University's IT Department and installing *nix based distros (usually Debian, Ubuntu, Pardus), solving problems of University's Servers and students' computers. I'm currently maintaining my university's mirror server. (Gentoo, Debian, Pardus, Gnu, KDE, DamnSmallLinux, OpenSSL, DragonFlyBSD, etc. : http://mirror.comu.edu.tr)

I also accepted into GSoC2011 at Debian (Python ?MultiBuild). I tried to fix some Debian bugs related to python modules (bug#585357) (like converting from dh_pycentral to dh_python2 to understand Debian Packaging with Python Modules well). I've been using Linux Distros since 2002. I'm currently using Debian GNU/Linux (and Ubuntu GNU/Linux). I've used Slackware, Fedora, Redhat, Mandrake, ?SuSe, FreeBSD, ?OpenSolaris, Ubuntu.

I was interner at Pardus Linux 2 years ago. I've done 2 projects[2][3] (both are written in Python) and write a blog[4] what I've done. Also have a git repo at github for personal jobs etc [5]. I think documentation is very important in this projects. I love researching. I'm writing blogs in Turkish but now I'll write it in English.

I worked on Pardus Linux's installer YALI last years.

I also interested in Debian Installer and Debian packaging (and made some packages but not professional) and now translating Debian New Maintainer's Guide's and Debian Social Contract's never versions.

I prefer GIT as a revision control system but I used SVN for many years (Pardus uses SVN). I already have an account at Alioth. If my mentor will not suggest somewhere else, I will use Alioth.

Now, I'm having a look at Debian Installer. Trying to fix some netcfg bugs and debian-installer problems.

Working on 2 bugs and sent emails about them to debian-boot:

http://lists.debian.org/debian-boot/2012/04/msg00027.html

http://lists.debian.org/debian-boot/2012/04/msg00068.html

[1] https://archdoom.googlecode.com

[2] https://svn.pardus.org.tr/uludag/trunk/playground/intern/2010/guestlogin/

[3] https://svn.pardus.org.tr/uludag/trunk/playground/intern/2010/ptsp_installer/

[4] http://mesutcank.blogspot.com

[5] https://github.com/mesutcank

For now, Debian-Installer provides a component to configure the network, netcfg. It takes control after hw-detect component. If hw-detect detects a wireless network device then netcfg will be able to configure settings about wireless. But it lacks some important features.

This project's goal is adding some new features and fix all possible bugs.

Some possible new features are:

After adding this features, next job is fixing all possible bugs.

Before adding this features I should read old files carefully. at netcfg's source code there is a wireless.c file which has some important functions about wireless configuration. It uses iwlib library. We can use this library for scanning and selecting SSID's.

While listing the SSID's we can also show authentication mode (WPA, WPA2, WEP etc.).

For authentication, netcfg uses wpa_supplicant (mostly used at wpa.c file). At this existing code, wpa.c and wpa_ctrl.c/h contains required functions for connection a network using WPA or WEP.

Beside that, there is another things. Like improving the user interface. At this phase I will ask what can be done to developers/user. I'll do a research about what people want. Maybe asking for less inputs is an idea and/or simplifying questions. We will decide that with developers and asking users. I'm started asking users to what they want and don't want at debian-installer. I'm also looking at (and will look at) other Linux based distributions' installers. I'm very familiar with Pardus Linux's installer YALI (and its source code). People like Ubuntu's installer much. Maybe for speeding installation process up some things can be done (inspirations from other distributions' installers).

I'll probably fix most of important netcfg bugs at netcfg bug page.

I also worked about IPv6 before. My university is one of the first serving IPv6 service at Turkey.

The IPv6 patches are ready. I will look at that work. If needed I will fix some areas and get netcfg ready for IPv6 connections.

Also there is need for some improvements at debian-installer. Like partitioner. If I have much time I want to look at there. To make easier the partitioning I'll change here a bit.

23 April - 3 June:

This time is learning, reading period. I'll try to understand what will I do, what should I do, planning etc. Talking with mentor. Figuring out some design decisions. (Due to my final exams I can start real working after 1st of June but I will work at this period) Find out which authentication and encryption methods can be implementable to Debian-Installer.

4 June - 14 June:

I will work on Improving wireless setup. Adding show available SSIDs will be completed.

15 June - 30 June:

Still working on Improving wireless setup. Supporting more encryption and authentication methods.

I think I can add WPA2-*(AES), 802.1x (if possible), TKIP, CCMP, and other possible methods. (after that period I will try to add more method)

1 July - 9 July:

Adding IPv6 support. (applying patches and do other works)

9 July - 13 July:

Mid-term evaluations period

14 July - 25 July:

Improving the user interface. Do some works f.e. about the partitioner or other components.

26 July - 13 August:

Fix bugs on the netcfg bugs page or other bugs. At this period other developers will test the code.

13 August - 20 August:

Writing Documentation, finishing the project.

20 August - 24 August:

Final evaluation