Name ==== Patrick "P. J." McDermott Contact/Email ============= mailto:pjm@nac.net mailto:pjm28@njit.edu "pehjota" on Freenode and OFTC IRC networks Background ========== I am a 21-year-old undergraduate computer science student at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (New Jersey, United States) with plans to graduate in May. At the university, I have led a special interest group for GNU/Linux; organized events related to free software; and given workshops and tutorials on GNU/Linux, UNIX [1], Debian, and Git. I use Debian GNU/Linux on my desktop, laptop, and server. My technical and theoretical interests include operating systems and distributions, package management, toolchains, hardware interfaces, embedded systems, networking, and graph theory. Technical Skills ---------------- I am proficient or knowledgeable in numerous programming, markup, and formatting languages, including ISO C 89 and 99, groff (with the "man" macro set), POSIX make, Markdown, and UNIX shell. [2] I have about six years of experience in programming and over eight years of experience in Web design. Common design goals for my software projects include modularity, portability, and efficiency. I am proficient with the use of Debian GNU/Linux and its tools. I have about one year of experience using Git, and I use it almost daily for software projects, coursework, etc. I have some experience with Debian packaging, however I do not yet maintain any packages in the Debian archive. I am comfortable using mailing lists, IRC, and the Debian BTS. Projects -------- Currently I am leading the development of a new multipurpose embedded operating system distribution. Notable software packages include Linux-libre, BusyBox, GCC, EGLIBC, and opkg (a lightweight package manager and frontend similar to dpkg and APT). For the project I designed a source package format [3], wrote a set of package building tools [4] (similar to dpkg and debhelper), and designed ways to configure and build the distribution for specific hardware and applications. We are now packaging software and building a cross toolchain [5] to port the system to its first target (an ARM Cortex-A8 CPU). In preparation for the port, I've identified circular build dependencies [6] and worked on methods to bootstrap the building (using package status overrides and simplified builds) and installation of packages for an architecture. Previous projects on which I've worked include an implementation of Conway's Game of Life in C using curses [7], a peer-to-peer chat client written in C with a curses interface, and a small C library to read and write run control files [8]. Exams and other commitments =========================== I have no exams or courses this summer. I graduate on May 15. Other summer plans ================== I have no other plans (jobs, vacations, or the like) for the summer except to spend some time working on other free software. I can work full-time on this project. Why Debian? =========== I am a proud user of Debian GNU/Linux, and I admire the Debian Project's infrastructure, commitment to quality, and attention to legal issues and user freedom. Applications to other organizations =================================== I am planning to apply to the GNU Project. References ========== 1: http://www.pehjota.net/guides/shell-workshop/ 2: http://www.pehjota.net/resume.html 3: http://specs.os.pehjota.net/source-package-format-1.0.html 4: http://www.pehjota.net/projects/opkhelper/ 5: 6: 7: http://www.pehjota.net/projects/cgol/ 8: https://gitorious.org/librcio/librcio