The D Language Foundation are pleased to be working with our partners, Symmetry Investments, to present the 2020 edition of Symmetry Autumn of Code (SAoC). We invite motivated individuals who enjoy solving problems with code to submit an application to fire up their editors, hack on D projects, and get paid in the process!

Those who participate will need mentors, so we’re looking for experienced D programmers to fill those roles. If you know D and enjoy sharing your knowledge with others, we invite you to put your skills to use in guiding and advising the students who join us this autumn. We’ll even pay you to do so!

We are also looking for more project ideas from the D community. Each SAoC participant will need to submit a project proposal as part of the application, so if you have a project suggestion, please submit it as an issue to the dlang/projects repository.

Quick 5 Ws

Who : coders who are at least 18 years of age, with preference given to university students who can provide proof of enrollment

: coders who are at least 18 years of age, with preference given to university students who can provide proof of enrollment What : get paid to create a new project or improve an existing one using the D Programming Language

: get paid to create a new project or improve an existing one using the D Programming Language When : from September 15, 2020 to January 15, 2021

: from September 15, 2020 to January 15, 2021 Where : your favorite coding space

: your favorite coding space Why : to make the D ecosystem even better

: to make the D ecosystem even better How: send your application (described below) to social@dlang.org

What’s in it for you

Participants will be tasked with completing four monthly milestones for a project using the D programming language. Each participant will be paid $1000 USD upon successful completion of each of the first three milestones (a total of $3000 per participant). At the end of the fourth milestone, the overall progress of each participant will be evaluated by the SAoC committee, and one participant will be selected to receive a final payment of $1000 USD. That lucky coder will also be eligible for a free pass to DConf 2021 (or a future DConf in the event that circumstances prevent DConf 2021 from taking place), with travel and hotel expenses provided.

Deadlines

August 16th – Application deadline

– Application deadline August 23rd – Applicants notified of their selection status

– Applicants notified of their selection status September 1st – Project planning phase (milestone development) begins

– Project planning phase (milestone development) begins September 15th – Project begins

– Project begins October 15th – Milestone 1 submission deadline

– Milestone 1 submission deadline November 15th – Milestone 2 submission deadline

– Milestone 2 submission deadline December 15th – Milestone 3 submission deadline

– Milestone 3 submission deadline January 15th – Final submission

Community

We welcome ideas from community members for potential projects. Project suggestions should require at least four months of work (assuming a minimum of 20 hours per week) and should be beneficial to the D community. Ideally, each project suggestion should outline specific goals that participants and their mentors can use to measure progress. The project should also provide a reasonable amount of challenge. For example, improve Visual D is not an acceptable suggestion, but a list of specific features to add to Visual D is fine.

Develop your project ideas in the D forums and submit them as individual issues to the dlang/projects repository.

Participants

This event is open to anyone over 18, with preference given to undergraduate or postgraduate coders currently enrolled in a school program. We are looking for creative, driven, and goal-oriented individuals who are willing to contribute to the D programming language. Those participating in the Symmetry Autumn of Code 2020 should expect to propose an idea for a new open source project or to establish specific goals for improving an existing project, finalize milestones for evaluation of progress on the project, and work with a mentor over the course of four months to ensure the milestones are met. Participants should expect to put in 20 hours of work each week, keep their mentor updated on their progress, provide status updates in the D forums, and work with their mentor to submit monthly progress reports to the SAoC 2020 committee.

To apply, please send a project proposal and resume to social@dlang.org. Make sure the subject line reads: “Autumn of Code Application” and that the project proposal and resume are attached as files. The proposal is where you sell us on your project. The resume is where you show us why you’re the person to get it done. Markdown is the preferred format. Please do not send files in a word processor format (DOCX, ODT, etc.).

Project Proposal

In 800 words or less, describe the project for which you’re willing to devote four months of work. Why did you select it? What specific goals do you want to achieve? Will it be completed in four months of effort at 20 hrs/week, or will more work be required beyond the event? How will it benefit the D ecosystem and/or community?

Your project should require enough effort to keep you occupied throughout the event while also being beneficial to the D community. You can find a list of project ideas in the dlang/projects repository. Those tagged with the SAOC tag were proposed specifically for SAOC, but any project may be suitable as long as it meets the aforementioned criteria.

It is not an absolute requirement that applicants find a mentor before submitting the application, but doing will have a positive impact on the evaluation of the application. As such, applicants are encouraged to make an effort to find potential mentors before the application is submitted. Once an applicant decides upon a project, a good first step to finding a mentor would be a post in the D.announce forum.

Resume

Briefly explain who you are and why you should be selected. Describe your experience working with the D programming language or the language you’re most comfortable working with. Tell us about your life as a programmer: programming languages you’ve learned, projects you’ve worked on, and programming-related topics you’ve studied. We recommend including your GitHub ID if you have any existing work there that you’d like us to see.

Note that you aren’t applying for a job! We will not take into consideration your general education or work history. We only want to get an idea of your level of programming experience. It will also help us if you let us know what your study workload or your work schedule will be like for the duration of the event.

If you are currently employed, please be sure to include your employer’s name and a point of contact. Before submitting your application, you should make sure your employer imposes no restrictions on your participation in this event and that you are free to contribute source code to open source projects. If there are any restrictions but your employer is willing to waive them for this event, please provide proof of such, or the means to obtain proof of such, as part of your application.

Mentors

We need patient, experienced D programmers willing to provide support and guidance for the coders who pursue their projects during these four months. Mentors are volunteers who the participants can look to for advice on the D programming language and how to approach solving the problems they encounter as they work on their projects. Each participant will be matched with one mentor. They will work together to establish the three project milestones that will be used to evaluate performance. Mentors will be expected to keep abreast of their coder’s progress and to encourage their coder in achieving each milestone.

At the end of SAoC 2020, each mentor whose student successfully completed the event, e.g. whose project was not terminated, will receive a one-time payment of $500. (Mentors of unsuccessful projects may also be eligible for the same payment at the SAoC committee’s discretion.)

If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please submit an email to social@dlang.org and let us know which project, or what kinds of projects, you would be willing to mentor, as well as the number of hours per week you can make yourself available to your coder during the event. The event organizers may ask for more information, such as examples of your level of experience with D, before deciding to accept your offer. Also, please pay attention to the D.announce forum and be on the look out for SAoC applicants in need of a mentor.

Note that mentors are not allowed to also participate as coders. Choose to apply only for one role!

FAQ

Can I use other languages alongside the D Language in my project?

Yes. Make sure that the focus is the D Language. We are likely to select applicants that prioritize the D Language.

How do you select applicants to actually embark on their projects?

We like to see experience with the D Language, but more importantly we are looking for a good track record of finished projects regardless of the language used. Preference will be given to graduate and postgraduate students who can provide proof of enrollment. The quality of the proposal is also a factor. Applicants who are motivated to research their project and provide a solid level of detail in the proposal are just the sort of programmers we’re looking for.

Can I work with a partner or a team of people?

No. The Symmetry Autumn of Code is designed for solo work.

Can I earn course credit for participating in SAoC?

Please check with your school for their policy. If they determine you are eligible for course credit, we can provide documentation for them upon a successful final evaluation of your SAoC project.

Can the schedule be adjusted to adapt to my school or work schedule?

Unfortunately, no. We understand that our schedule will not work for everyone, and we are sorry if it conflicts with yours. However, we still welcome contributions to D even outside of SAoC! (You can still earn some money by completing one or more Task Bounties.)

How do I find a mentor?

You don’t need to find a mentor for a successful application, but having one will make it easier for all involved. If you are unable to find a mentor prior to submitting your application, then, once accepted, we will do our best to match you up with a mentor suitable for your project. If you already know someone who would be skilled in your proposed project area, don’t hesitate to get in touch with him/her to discuss your project and let us know about it in your application. A post in the D.announce forum is also a good way to find a potential mentor.

Is SAoC considered an internship, a job, or any form of employment?

None of the above. SAoC is an activity that the participants perform as independent developers for which they are paid a stipend. Applicants should check with their school or employer to ensure that participation in SAoC does not violate any school or local government regulations or contractual requirements.

What if my school/employer/local government does prohibit me from being paid as a result of my participation? Can I participate without pay?

Yes. We will accept applications from those who, for whatever reason, wish to participate without pay. The application should make it clear that no pay is expected by the applicant. Those participating without pay will still be evaluated upon completion of each milestone and provided with feedback, but will not receive the stipend and will not be eligible to win the free trip to DConf.

What is Symmetry Investments?

Symmetry Investments is a global investment company with offices in Hong Kong and London. We have been in business since 2014 after successfully spinning off from a major New York-based hedge fund. Currently we have about 100 full time employees and manage approximately US$5.3 billion of capital.

At Symmetry, we seek to engage in intelligent risk-taking to create value for our clients, partners and employees. We derive our edge from our capacity to generate Win-Wins – in the broadest sense. Win-Win is our fundamental ethical and strategic principle. By generating Win-Wins, we can create unique solutions that reconcile perspectives that are usually seen as incompatible or opposites, and encompass the best that each side has to offer. We integrate fixed-income arbitrage with global macro strategies in a novel way. We invent and develop technology that focuses on the potential of human-machine integration. We build systems where machines do what they do best, supporting people to do what people do best. We are creating a collaborative meritocracy: a culture where individual contribution serves both personal and collective goals – and is rewarded accordingly. We value both ownership thinking AND cooperative team spirit, self-realisation AND community.

People at Symmetry Investments have been active participants in the D community since 2014. We have sponsored the development of excel-d, dpp, autowrap, mir-algorithm, and various other projects. We started Symmetry Autumn of Code in 2018 and hosted DConf 2019 in London.