HackFest

Are you the open source g33k?
Ever saw something go wrong and spent sleepless nights trying to correct it?
Do you like programming and want to make things look better for the free world?
Are you that nocturnal comp guy who says, "Sigh, its barely 3AM and I'm sleepy already?!"?
Are you one of those who go on and on rambling, ".. I want to change the world but they won't give me the source!"?
And ... does the Sun rise in the east? :P
If you think you can say 'Yes!' to any of the above (or otherwise) - HackFest beckons you!

Come to Shaastra '09 and be a part of the the most impelling hands on event - the HackFest. When the clock rings nine and The Sandman arrives you'll wake up into the enthralling world of development and contribution. Fire up those grey cells and with a few clickerty clickers lo! you'll have a patch to own. Who knows, you might even code-in features and lots more. Just take a sneak peek into the world of development and make yourself a proud contributor.

Don't worry if you are confused about where to begin, we are there for you. Some really cool chaps are flying down here to guide you and yeah, we've many local stud-s here as well.

So, are you ready to swat those ugly bugs? :)  HackFest@Shaastra  - Be there!

The event will go on over a period of two days (and nights!). It is divided into two parts:

1. Talks:
We will have a couple of talks from great FOSS developers. They will serve as a nice introduction to FOSS and will also help you get started with developing softwares by giving insights on some really cool tools. This will happen in the daytime.

2. Hacking Sessions:
In the nights, we'll have the HackFest sessions, with lots of developers from various organizations to guide you through the process of development. You'll be given some introduction and a list of bugs that you can try and work on. If you're already into development, this might be the right place to write that new feature which you always had in mind but never got the time to.

Please note: You'll have to necessarily attend the talks during the daytime to attend the HackFest nights.

1. Isn't hacking illegal and a criminal offense?
• No, hacking is a commonly misunderstood word which refers to intelligent programming rather than getting into places where you aren't allowed. The hacker culture is now mostly associated with creation, development and free software movement. The 'illegal' and 'criminal' activities you're referring to is 'Cracking' :)
  Please go through this wiki article for details.


2. Why do you guys program when everyone is sleeping?
• Listen to this song: Enter Sandman by Metallica. Actually, this whole Sandman concept is a myth. The reality is that we programmers put good dreams in your head when you are asleep. You can never escape from the Matrix :).


3. What should I know beforehand in order to attend HackFest?
• We suggest people who use GNU/Linux or those who want to contribute to the development of free software to attend the event. A good working knowledge of C / C++ or any other programming language is requisite. A little experience in using Linux would be great.


4. What will I get by contributing to free software?
• Contribution and involvement in a community gives you a huge exposure / platform to take off as an efficient programmer. But more than everything the implicit satisfaction you derive by making the free world a little better in your way is inexpressible.


5. Do I have to be a computer science student?
• Definitely not. In fact, two of the event coordinators of this year, and all of the coordinators of the previous year are non-computer science students!


6. Hey, I'm completely new to this development stuff,  what is there in store for me?
• We will teach you everything required right from the basics. We'll show you how tools like vim, emacs work, and some good ways of interacting with programmers like IRC. Don't worry, we'll make sure you'll file atleast a patch before you leave. And depending on your coding proficiency, a basic feature or two.


7. What projects will you be concentrating on?
• We are currently aiming at 3 departments, desktop softwares like KDE, GNOME applications, Web 2.0 tools like Joomla, and Linux kernel hacking.


8. Do I need to bring anything with me to the event, say, a laptop?
• That will not be necessary. We will be providing you with all the facilities required. All we ask is your physical presence and enthusiasm about FOSS. But if you can, its cool!

Click the link below to download the schedule

Contact hackfest@shaastra.org for more info! 

The event coordinators are as follows:

Kashyap R Puranik
+91 99520 92561

Kashyap Garimella Jagannadh
+91 99520 93529

Prakash Mohan
+91 98402 71703

Vinay Hegde
+91 99520 93041