Profile Information
Name: Shashank Kumar
Email: shashank.kumar.phe22@itbhu.ac.in
Education: Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) , Varanasi
Github : shashankiitbhu
LinkedIn : Shashank Kumar
Location: Varanasi, India
Other Communication modes: Discord, Zulip, Telegram
Typical working hours: 9 am - 10 pm (IST) UTC+5:30
Synopsis
- Wikimedia Commons Android App is an App that Enables user to Upload and Review Images (Contributions) through their Android Devices. The goal of this GSOC Project is to Improve the Upload Management Queue and Modernize the app.
- Mentors - @Nicolas_Raoul @RitikaPahwa4444
Have you contacted your mentors already?
Yes
Deliverables
There are Main Three Divisions of this Project:
1. Improve Upload Queue Management:
2. Modernize the App
3. Split Nearby into a fast query for coordinates + a details query for each pin
Implementation Strategy
Improve Upload Queue Management
1. Making Upload Queue Behave as a Real Queue
- The main objective here is Only One Upload Proceeds at a time , What needs to be done here is to make sure that due to No Reason, whether it is Retry of Failed Uploads or Pausing and Resuming Uploads or Making Multiple Uploads at the same time one after another.
- Currently, there is no distinction between Queued Uploads and Not-Started Progress Bar but still we see two different visual Indicators Uploads which makes it Confusing for users. Hence It needs to be simplified to one tag - Queued which should be assigned only after the Upload Worker starts the Job of Uploading them.
- Maintaining a Queue where only one Upload is in progress at a time, making sure all others are with a single label - Queued and possibly maintaining their queue position number to make sure that no two uploads overlap or get "stuck" as mentioned here - #5603
What is required here is to Introduce a mechanism hat dynamically updates the state of the uploads based on their position in the upload queue. This mechanism should ensure that only one upload is marked as STATE_IN_PROGRESS at any given time, while the others are either set to STATE_QUEUED or a new state indicating they are waiting to start.
Here is how I have planned it for now :
- Initially, Set all all items to STATE_QUEUED and only transition an item to STATE_IN_PROGRESS when it's actually being processed.
- Modify logic in the UploadWorker to manage state transitions between STATE_QUEUED and STATE_IN_PROGRESS more dynamically.
This is the Current UploadWorker Flow (Only Tracking Contribution) :
This is the Rough flow after the Modification :
However, I plan to dive deeper into finding better solutions or to Improve current solution in my GSOC Period.
2. Building New UI for Pending Uploads
- Make a Separate Pending Uploads Screen which Follows the above principles for a Real Upload Queue , In which only one upload is seen in Progress at a time
- Making It Easier for users to see their Queued Uploads ,Paused Uploads, and Failed Uploads, this clarifies to the user that Failed Uploads will be added at the last of the Queue if retried and Paused Uploads are different from Queued Uploads
- This provides users a clean way to see the status of their uploads and decide what action they should take.
3. Prevent Retries For Genuinely Failed Uploads #5284:
- As mentioned here, Identify which reasons qualify as "Genuine"
- Whitelist the "Genuine" reasons and check if Upload is Failed due to any of these reasons.
- Only Retry if the Failed reason is not in the list of whitelisted reasons for failure.
4. Handling Failed Uploads
- This Involves Fixing #5280 & #5283
- For Issue #5283 , till this point, I have observed and also mentioned here that it only appears that the failed upload is going on Simultaneously but isn't going on, this seems to be an issue with Incorrectly updating the UI, However, it would require more extensive debugging and find a more reliable way to reproduce this to get to a conclusion.
- For Issue #5280 , Based on the current method of reproduction, the reason for this Issue seems to be that the current logic for determining upload success or failure might be too simplistic, not accounting for partial successes (where the image is uploaded, but subsequent steps fail). To solve this, we have to more accurately track and update the state of uploads, taking into consideration partial successes and providing more accurate error feedback.
5. Preventing Duplicates #5608:
- The task here is to first Investigate the reason for duplicates that arise in case of Multiple Uploads, Finding a reliable way to reproduce it is the first step.
- There could be multiple reasons for this, as far as I have examined Upload Worker and the overall whole Upload Process during my contribution period I think it could related to the retry logic we currently have where the app is Incorrectly mistaking a stuck upload with a failed upload.
- One good way to solve this is to Implement an upload anti-duplication logic in the UploadWorker, so even if we don't know the exact reason why duplicates are found we can be sure that no duplicates will be in the upload queue, I am interested in possibilities of using 'imageSHA' to uniquely Identify Contribution in UploadWorker and avoid duplicates.
Load pins as I move the screen, cache pins, and remove the "search this area" button : #5664
As suggested in the Issue description, this issue aims to Improve nearby making pins load faster by caching the pins and load pins automatically and removing the "search this area" button, I'll be Implementing the following features :
- Automatically Load Pins and Remove the "Search this Area" Button
- Implement a Caching Mechanism for Pins
- Remove caching when the contribution is uploaded from that pin.
Timeline
| Period | Task Description | |
|---|---|---|
| May 4 to May 26 | Community bonding period | - Join community and connect with Mentors |
| - Introduction and connecting with other contributors | ||
| - Start working on taking feedback for the new UI for the Pending Uploads and Start working on Suggestions | ||
| - Create and Implement in Code the new UI | ||
| - Final Review, Testing, and Feedback for the UI | ||
| May 27 to May 31 | - Final Iteration on New UI Based on the Received Feedback | |
| May 31 to June 2 | - Test Issue #5603 and Reliably Reproduce, Analyse and Confirm the Underlying reason for this Issue | |
| June 2 to June 16 | - Based on the Results of the above task and current known Issues with Upload Queue Management, Modify and Implement Real Upload Queue Management | |
| June 16 to June 18 | - Test Upload with the newly updated Upload Logic and solve Bugs if found | |
| June 18 to June 20 | - Write tests for the new Implemented Methods and classes and add Java doc | |
| June 20 to June 28 | - Fix Prevent retries for genuinely failed uploads #5284 | |
| June 28 to July 8 | - Prevent duplicates #5608 | |
| July 8 to July 12 | Mid Term Evaluations | - Code Cleanup, Testing and Progress Report/Blog |
| July 13 to July 20 | - Fix Never show successfully uploaded images as "Failed": #5280 | |
| July 20 to July 22 | - Test and Analyse the Behaviour of the App After Fix, Write Tests and Java Doc | |
| July 22 to August 1 | - Fix Enqueue failed uploads, rather than uploading them simultaneously with the ongoing upload: #5283 | |
| August 1 to August 4 | - Test and Analyse the Behavior of the app after the Changes, Wite Tests, and Java Doc | |
| August 4 to August 16 | - Load pins as the user moves the screen, cache pins, remove "search this area" button:: #5664 | |
| August 16 to September 18 | - Test and Analyse the Behaviour of the App After Fix, Write Tests and Java Doc | |
| August 18 to September 22 | - Finalise Changes , Code Quality Review and Improvements | |
| August 22 to September 26 | - Update Documentation for changes, Write and Submit Report/Blog for all the Tasks Completed and Accomplishments, Learnings | |
| August 26 to September 2 | Final Evaluations | - Mentors submit final GSoC contributor evaluations |
Participation
- I plan to communicate through GitHub, Zulip, and any other suggested mediums
- I plan to report the successful completion of tasks through detailed blogs on either Hashnode or Medium
- I am available online during my working hours and I am always available on my Email.
- I am also available during my working hours for Online meetings through Google Meet or Other Mediums if required.
Previous Contributions to Commons
I started Contributing to Commons in December 2023 and have made several pull requests since then. You can look at those here
Pull Requests Created By Me
Total : 32 :: BUGs : 16 Enhancements: 5 Migrations: 8
Merged: 32
Open: 0
| S.No. | PR No. | Issue No. | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PR #5544 | #5522 | BUG Precise error message if the password has become invalid after password change | Merged |
| 2 | PR #5466 | #5437 | BUG Crash in Upload Wizard when changing Android font size | Merged |
| 3 | PR #5618 | #5277 | Custom picker: Show different pictures that are currently being uploaded | Merged |
| 4 | PR #5468 | #5448 | BUG Nearby banner shows Item without image | Merged |
| 5 | PR #5576 | #5558 | Do not reload everything after marking a picture as not for upload | Merged |
| 6 | PR #5500 | #5474 | BUG App Crashes when Switched Between Dark/Light Mode in Location Picker Activity | Merged |
| 7 | PR #5510 | #5505 | BUG Edit Category Crashes when Previous Button is Clicked | Merged |
| 8 | PR #5525 | #5521 | BUG Methods Usage Incompatible with Android API Level 21 | Merged |
| 9 | PR #5590 | #4664 | Migrate Upload Package To View Binding from Butterknife | Merged |
| 10 | PR #5503 | #5473 | BUG Changes Lost and App Crashes when Switched between Dark-Light Modes in Edit Description and Captions | Merged |
| 11 | PR #5665 | #4611 | Make custom image selector available from Nearby | Merged |
| 12 | PR #5655 | #5556 | [Bug]: Set Wallpaper Not Working Correctly | Merged |
| 13 | PR #5636 | #5630 | Option to Remove Specific Images from Upload Wizard | Merged |
| 14 | PR #5594 | #4664 | Migrated Bookmarks Package From Butterknife to ViewBinding | Merged |
| 15 | PR #5601 | #4664 | Migrated Media Package to View Binding | Merged |
| 16 | PR #5595 | #4664 | Migrated CategoryDetailsActivity , MainActivity to View Binding | Merged |
| 17 | PR #5593 | #4664 | Migrated Contributions Package From Butterknife to ViewBinding | Merged |
| 18 | PR #5592 | #4664 | Migrated Explore Package From Butterknife to ViewBinding | Merged |
| 19 | PR #5591 | #4664 | Migrated Profile Package from Butterknife to View Binding | Merged |
| 20 | PR #5478 | #5477 | BUG Selected 18 pictures for multi-upload, but Upload Wizard only asks metadata for 1 picture | Merged |
| 21 | PR #5550 | #5547 | BUG App Crashes after clicking on Explore in bottom Navigation | Merged |
| 22 | PR #5543 | #5537 | BUG Unable to upload DNG / RAW images | Merged |
| 23 | PR #5492 | #5470 | Show Details About Icon Labels when long pressed | Merged |
| 24 | PR #5493 | #5470 | Show Details About Icon Labels when long pressed | Merged |
| 25 | PR #5534 | #5532 | BUG Can't Open Privacy Policy | Merged |
| 26 | PR #5604 | #4664 | Migrated Review Package to View Binding | Merged |
| 27 | PR #5519 | #5516 | BUG Peer Review Buttons not get disabled after voting an Image for deletion | Merged |
| 28 | PR #5660 | #4664 | Remove Butterknife from Project & Complete Migration from Butterknide | Merged |
| 29 | PR #5640 | #5627 | BUG Custom picker: thumbnails sometimes blank | Merged |
| 30 | PR #5639 | #5628 | BUG Custom picker sometimes crashing when marking many pictures as "not for upload" towards the bottom | Merged |
| 31 | PR #5648 | #5644 | BUG Fix Custom picker: "uploading" overlay icon disappears when marking another pic as "not for upload" | Merged |
| 32 | PR #5643 | #5642 | BUG No Precise Error Message After Error Due to Password Change [Related to 1st] | Merged |
Issues Created By Me
| S.No. | Issue No. | Description | Status | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | #5547 | App Crashes after clicking on Explore in bottom Navigation | Closed | BUG |
| 2 | #5521 | Methods Usage Incompatible with Android API Level 21 (Target SDK Version) | Closed | BUG |
| 3 | #5505 | Edit Category Crashes when Previous Button is Clicked | Closed | BUG |
| 4 | #5474 | App Crashes when Switched Between Dark/Light Mode in Location Picker Activity | Closed | BUG |
| 5 | #5532 | Can't Open Privacy Policy | Closed | BUG |
| 6 | #5516 | Peer Review Buttons are not disabled while the next image is Loading After Nominating it for deletion | Closed | BUG |
| 7 | #5473 | Changes Lost and App Crashes when Switched between Dark-Light Modes in Edit Description and Captions | Closed | BUG |
| 8 | #5630 | Option to Remove Specific Images from Upload Wizard | Closed | Enhancement |
| 9 | #5470 | Show Details About Icon Labels when long pressed | Closed | Enhancement |
| 10 | #5642 | No Precise Error Message After Error Due to Password Change | Open | Enhancement |
PR Reviews By Me:
- Reviewed Pull Request #5575 and made this comments
- Review Pull Request #5578 and added some suggestions.
About Me
I am Shashank Kumar, a Sophomore at the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, pursuing a B.Tech in Pharmaceutical Engineering & Technology. I have been programming since I was 12 and I have an immense love for building products and solving problems through programming.
How did you hear about this program?
I got to know about this program from a fellow developer at the farewell event of Google's Appscale Academy.
We advise all candidates eligible for Google Summer of Code and Outreachy to apply for both programs. Are you planning to apply to both programs and, if so, with what organization(s)?
I am only applying to Google Summer of Code.
Past Experience
I have been coding since I was 12 and I have been working in Java since then and even got certified as Oracle Certified Associate, Java SE 8 Programmer at 13. My Journey to Android App development started soon after and even became Google Certified Associate Android Developer at 14. I have been developing Android Apps since then and I have worked on a few Android app projects since then, a notable one which I made when I was in High School Android-Java Tutorial App which got more than 35000 Installs on Play Store.
One of the main Android App I built for - Opined, which is a Social Media Platform that I founded and where I handled all the tech ( Web and Backend in PHP - Laravel ) and
The Android App - Opined App :
- Opined is an Anonymous Social Media Platform that eliminates the problem of biases created by personalization algorithms
- The app is Built on Java and Kotlin/Jetpack Compose
- Uses Sentiment Analysis to Rank User's Opinions
- Fetches Latest News & Headlines and allows users to put their opinions on them
- Got More than 10000 Installs on the Play Store
- Got Selected in the 2022 Batch of Google Appscale Academy
Relevant Skills
- Android App Development with Java and Kotlin
- Jetpack Compose
- Git and GitHub
- Retrofit and REST APIs
- Room Database and SQL
- Unit Testing and Understanding of Robolectric
- RxJava and Multi-Threading
- Understanding of Wikimedia's APIs
Volunteer Experience
- Core Team Member of Club of Programmers (Software Development Group), IIT (BHU) Varanasi
- Backend Lead at Tech Team of Training and Placement Cell, IIT (BHU) Varanasi
Availability
Are you eligible for Google Summer of Code?
Yes.
Do you plan to submit any other proposal apart from this one?
Yes , this one
Do you have any other plans during the period of GSoC?
No, I do not have any other plans during the contribution period.
How many hours per week can you dedicate to this?
I can devote at least 40 hours per week and can extend it further if needed, I will have no major commitments during this period, and because of my end-of-semester breaks I won't have any academic commitments during this period either.
Have you been accepted to GSoC before?
No. I am applying to the GSoC program for the first time.
Post GSOC :
I like this project personally and I love how active and enthusiastic the whole contributors community in Commons Android. This community is something that I want to be part of for a long time and keep contributing to and improving this project even after GSOC and I'll be more than happy to be a part of major changes in this project. For example, transitioning to Kotlin or Migrating from RxJava (for which I have added a proposal here), I have tons of ideas for this project and would love to discuss and implement those over a long period.