GSoC 2011 idea

[Ilie Halip]

Hi!

My name is Ilie Halip, and I'm a student at the Faculty of Computer Science,
in Iasi, Romania. I'd like to take part in this year's Google Summer of
Code, and I was browsing the ideas page earlier.

What caught my eye was the Management Console, but after some discussions on
IRC, I got very excited about another thing not listed on the wiki page for
GSoC. It's about implementing support for Windows Error Reporting. It's
listed at http://reactos.org/wiki/Missing_ReactOS_Functionality. I think
it's doable in less than 3 months, and might prove to be helpful too (the
wiki page sais that :P). I'm not sure if you would accept this kind of
proposal, so I'm here to ask about that. Also, I would need a mentor to help
me with this project - so... would anyone be willing to mentor me, if this
project would be accepted? I was also looking at WMI, but I know it's huge,
and I'm not sure how much of it would be required to consider such a project
successful.

Also, another thing I should mention. I do have a full time job right now.
That's a reason I didn't dive into anything bigger listed on the ideas page.
Even though I do have some experience writing Windows drivers (I wrote a
file system filter driver 2 years back), I don't think I'd be able to write
an Intel HDA driver in less than 3 months. But I talked to my superiors, and
they are willing to let me work part-time during GSoC, so I should be able
to work for my would-be project about 30 hours/week. Do you think that's
enough?

Regards,
Ilie.

[Ged Murphy]

Hi Ilie,

I agree that the WER would be useful.

My main concern with this is that in order to do it correctly (meaning as per Microsoft), we would need a server setting up to consume the error reports.

I realise that there is much more to WER than reporting crashes back to Microsoft, but if we start to dig into what features are available, you’ll realise that it’s a huge area.

One thing what needs addressing are usermode dumps. How do we do this? Ideally we’d like to output dumps in the same format as Windows does (dmp), but I’m not sure if anyone has the knowledge of the layout of these files.

If you are keen on this as a project though, I suggest you speak to Timo in IRC. Although he’s not a mentor, he has more experience than most in raising and catching exceptions and may be able to help guide you.

As for the timescale, 30 hours per week is more than enough time to be spending on a GSoC project.

Your time is entirely managed by you anyway, you just need to strive to complete before the deadline.

I wish you luck in whatever you choose.

Ged Murphy.

From: [e-mail] [mailto:[e-mail]] On Behalf Of Ilie Halip
Sent: 29 March 2011 08:46
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [ros-dev] GSoC 2011 idea

Hi!

My name is Ilie Halip, and I'm a student at the Faculty of Computer Science, in Iasi, Romania. I'd like to take part in this year's Google Summer of Code, and I was browsing the ideas page earlier.

What caught my eye was the Management Console, but after some discussions on IRC, I got very excited about another thing not listed on the wiki page for GSoC. It's about implementing support for Windows Error Reporting. It's listed at http://reactos.org/wiki/Missing_ReactOS_Functionality. I think it's doable in less than 3 months, and might prove to be helpful too (the wiki page sais that :P). I'm not sure if you would accept this kind of proposal, so I'm here to ask about that. Also, I would need a mentor to help me with this project - so... would anyone be willing to mentor me, if this project would be accepted? I was also looking at WMI, but I know it's huge, and I'm not sure how much of it would be required to consider such a project successful.

Also, another thing I should mention. I do have a full time job right now. That's a reason I didn't dive into anything bigger listed on the ideas page. Even though I do have some experience writing Windows drivers (I wrote a file system filter driver 2 years back), I don't think I'd be able to write an Intel HDA driver in less than 3 months. But I talked to my superiors, and they are willing to let me work part-time during GSoC, so I should be able to work for my would-be project about 30 hours/week. Do you think that's enough?

Regards,
Ilie.

[Ilie Halip]

Hey.

You're right, I haven't thought about generating a .dmp file manually, I
guess I just took MiniDumpWriteDump for granted. A quick search for the
Windows dump file format doesn't reveal much... There's also the issue with
symbol files (probably also not well documented), which are needed to get
the stack trace.

Hm, this raises many issues... I'll try to talk to Timo when I see him
online. Thanks for the heads-up.

IH.

On Wed, Mar 30, 2011 at 12:03 PM, Ged Murphy [e-mail] wrote:
> Hi Ilie,
>
> I agree that the WER would be useful.
>
> My main concern with this is that in order to do it correctly (meaning as
> per Microsoft), we would need a server setting up to consume the error
> reports.
>
> I realise that there is much more to WER than reporting crashes back to
> Microsoft, but if we start to dig into what features are available, you’ll
> realise that it’s a huge area.
>
> One thing what needs addressing are usermode dumps. How do we do this?
> Ideally we’d like to output dumps in the same format as Windows does (dmp),
> but I’m not sure if anyone has the knowledge of the layout of these files.
>
> If you are keen on this as a project though, I suggest you speak to Timo in
> IRC. Although he’s not a mentor, he has more experience than most in raising
> and catching exceptions and may be able to help guide you.
>
> As for the timescale, 30 hours per week is more than enough time to be
> spending on a GSoC project.
>
> Your time is entirely managed by you anyway, you just need to strive to
> complete before the deadline.
>
> I wish you luck in whatever you choose.
>
> Ged Murphy.
>
> *From:* [e-mail] [mailto:[e-mail]] *On
> Behalf Of *Ilie Halip
> *Sent:* 29 March 2011 08:46
>
> *To:* [e-mail]
> *Subject:* [ros-dev] GSoC 2011 idea
>
> Hi!
>
> My name is Ilie Halip, and I'm a student at the Faculty of Computer
> Science, in Iasi, Romania. I'd like to take part in this year's Google
> Summer of Code, and I was browsing the ideas page earlier.
>
> What caught my eye was the Management Console, but after some discussions
> on IRC, I got very excited about another thing not listed on the wiki page
> for GSoC. It's about implementing support for Windows Error Reporting. It's
> listed at http://reactos.org/wiki/Missing_ReactOS_Functionality. I think
> it's doable in less than 3 months, and might prove to be helpful too (the
> wiki page sais that :P). I'm not sure if you would accept this kind of
> proposal, so I'm here to ask about that. Also, I would need a mentor to help
> me with this project - so... would anyone be willing to mentor me, if this
> project would be accepted? I was also looking at WMI, but I know it's huge,
> and I'm not sure how much of it would be required to consider such a project
> successful.
>
> Also, another thing I should mention. I do have a full time job right now.
> That's a reason I didn't dive into anything bigger listed on the ideas page.
> Even though I do have some experience writing Windows drivers (I wrote a
> file system filter driver 2 years back), I don't think I'd be able to write
> an Intel HDA driver in less than 3 months. But I talked to my superiors, and
> they are willing to let me work part-time during GSoC, so I should be able
> to work for my would-be project about 30 hours/week. Do you think that's
> enough?
>
> Regards,
> Ilie.
>
> Ros-dev mailing list
> [e-mail]
> http://www.reactos.org/mailman/listinfo/ros-dev

[Bryan Donlan]

I believe Google's breakpad library generates windows minidump format dumps
portably (on linux, Mac etc), so that may be something to look at. Not sure
offhand what the license is,but it's something OSI-approved.
On Mar 30, 2011 6:48 AM, "Ilie Halip" [e-mail] wrote:
> Hey.
>
> You're right, I haven't thought about generating a .dmp file manually, I
> guess I just took MiniDumpWriteDump for granted. A quick search for the
> Windows dump file format doesn't reveal much... There's also the issue

with
> symbol files (probably also not well documented), which are needed to get
> the stack trace.
>
> Hm, this raises many issues... I'll try to talk to Timo when I see him
> online. Thanks for the heads-up.
>
> IH.
>
> On Wed, Mar 30, 2011 at 12:03 PM, Ged Murphy [e-mail] wrote:
> > Hi Ilie,
> >
> > I agree that the WER would be useful.
> >
> > My main concern with this is that in order to do it correctly (meaning as
> > per Microsoft), we would need a server setting up to consume the error
> > reports.
> >
> > I realise that there is much more to WER than reporting crashes back to
> > Microsoft, but if we start to dig into what features are available,

you’ll
> > realise that it’s a huge area.
> >
> > One thing what needs addressing are usermode dumps. How do we do this?
> > Ideally we’d like to output dumps in the same format as Windows does

(dmp),
> > but I’m not sure if anyone has the knowledge of the layout of these

files.
> > If you are keen on this as a project though, I suggest you speak to Timo

in
> > IRC. Although he’s not a mentor, he has more experience than most in

raising
> > and catching exceptions and may be able to help guide you.
> >
> > As for the timescale, 30 hours per week is more than enough time to be
> > spending on a GSoC project.
> >
> > Your time is entirely managed by you anyway, you just need to strive to
> > complete before the deadline.
> >
> > I wish you luck in whatever you choose.
> >
> > Ged Murphy.
> >
> > *From:* [e-mail] [mailto:[e-mail]]

*On
> > Behalf Of *Ilie Halip
> > *Sent:* 29 March 2011 08:46
> >
> > *To:* [e-mail]
> > *Subject:* [ros-dev] GSoC 2011 idea
> >
> > Hi!
> >
> > My name is Ilie Halip, and I'm a student at the Faculty of Computer
> > Science, in Iasi, Romania. I'd like to take part in this year's Google
> > Summer of Code, and I was browsing the ideas page earlier.
> >
> > What caught my eye was the Management Console, but after some discussions
> > on IRC, I got very excited about another thing not listed on the wiki

page
> > for GSoC. It's about implementing support for Windows Error Reporting.

It's
> > listed at http://reactos.org/wiki/Missing_ReactOS_Functionality. I think
> > it's doable in less than 3 months, and might prove to be helpful too (the
> > wiki page sais that :P). I'm not sure if you would accept this kind of
> > proposal, so I'm here to ask about that. Also, I would need a mentor to

help
> > me with this project - so... would anyone be willing to mentor me, if

this
> > project would be accepted? I was also looking at WMI, but I know it's

huge,
> > and I'm not sure how much of it would be required to consider such a

project
> > successful.
> >
> > Also, another thing I should mention. I do have a full time job right

now.
> > That's a reason I didn't dive into anything bigger listed on the ideas

page.
> > Even though I do have some experience writing Windows drivers (I wrote a
> > file system filter driver 2 years back), I don't think I'd be able to

write
> > an Intel HDA driver in less than 3 months. But I talked to my superiors,

and
> > they are willing to let me work part-time during GSoC, so I should be

able
> > to work for my would-be project about 30 hours/week. Do you think that's
> > enough?
> >
> > Regards,
> > Ilie.
> >
> > Ros-dev mailing list
> > [e-mail]
> > http://www.reactos.org/mailman/listinfo/ros-dev

[Alex Ionescu]

The minidump/dump format is well-documented and understood among those in
the security industry, so it's not a big secret.

Best regards,
Alex Ionescu

On Wed, Mar 30, 2011 at 11:21 PM, Bryan Donlan [e-mail] wrote:
> I believe Google's breakpad library generates windows minidump format dumps
> portably (on linux, Mac etc), so that may be something to look at. Not sure
> offhand what the license is,but it's something OSI-approved.
>  On Mar 30, 2011 6:48 AM, "Ilie Halip" [e-mail] wrote:
> > Hey.
> >
> > You're right, I haven't thought about generating a .dmp file manually, I
> > guess I just took MiniDumpWriteDump for granted. A quick search for the
> > Windows dump file format doesn't reveal much... There's also the issue
>
> with
> > symbol files (probably also not well documented), which are needed to get
> > the stack trace.
> >
> > Hm, this raises many issues... I'll try to talk to Timo when I see him
> > online. Thanks for the heads-up.
> >
> > IH.
> >
> > On Wed, Mar 30, 2011 at 12:03 PM, Ged Murphy [e-mail]
>
> wrote:
> > > Hi Ilie,
> > >
> > > I agree that the WER would be useful.
> > >
> > > My main concern with this is that in order to do it correctly (meaning
>
> as
> > > per Microsoft), we would need a server setting up to consume the error
> > > reports.
> > >
> > > I realise that there is much more to WER than reporting crashes back to
> > > Microsoft, but if we start to dig into what features are available,
>
> you’ll
> > > realise that it’s a huge area.
> > >
> > > One thing what needs addressing are usermode dumps. How do we do this?
> > > Ideally we’d like to output dumps in the same format as Windows does
>
> (dmp),
> > > but I’m not sure if anyone has the knowledge of the layout of these
>
> files.
> > > If you are keen on this as a project though, I suggest you speak to Timo
>
> in
> > > IRC. Although he’s not a mentor, he has more experience than most in
>
> raising
> > > and catching exceptions and may be able to help guide you.
> > >
> > > As for the timescale, 30 hours per week is more than enough time to be
> > > spending on a GSoC project.
> > >
> > > Your time is entirely managed by you anyway, you just need to strive to
> > > complete before the deadline.
> > >
> > > I wish you luck in whatever you choose.
> > >
> > > Ged Murphy.
> > >
> > > *From:* [e-mail] [mailto:[e-mail]]
>
> *On
> > > Behalf Of *Ilie Halip
> > > *Sent:* 29 March 2011 08:46
> > >
> > > *To:* [e-mail]
> > > *Subject:* [ros-dev] GSoC 2011 idea
> > >
> > > Hi!
> > >
> > > My name is Ilie Halip, and I'm a student at the Faculty of Computer
> > > Science, in Iasi, Romania. I'd like to take part in this year's Google
> > > Summer of Code, and I was browsing the ideas page earlier.
> > >
> > > What caught my eye was the Management Console, but after some
>
> discussions
> > > on IRC, I got very excited about another thing not listed on the wiki
>
> page
> > > for GSoC. It's about implementing support for Windows Error Reporting.
>
> It's
> > > listed at http://reactos.org/wiki/Missing_ReactOS_Functionality. I
>
> think
> > > it's doable in less than 3 months, and might prove to be helpful too
>
> (the
> > > wiki page sais that :P). I'm not sure if you would accept this kind of
> > > proposal, so I'm here to ask about that. Also, I would need a mentor to
>
> help
> > > me with this project - so... would anyone be willing to mentor me, if
>
> this
> > > project would be accepted? I was also looking at WMI, but I know it's
>
> huge,
> > > and I'm not sure how much of it would be required to consider such a
>
> project
> > > successful.
> > >
> > > Also, another thing I should mention. I do have a full time job right
>
> now.
> > > That's a reason I didn't dive into anything bigger listed on the ideas
>
> page.
> > > Even though I do have some experience writing Windows drivers (I wrote a
> > > file system filter driver 2 years back), I don't think I'd be able to
>
> write
> > > an Intel HDA driver in less than 3 months. But I talked to my superiors,
>
> and
> > > they are willing to let me work part-time during GSoC, so I should be
>
> able
> > > to work for my would-be project about 30 hours/week. Do you think that's
> > > enough?
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Ilie.
> > >
> > > Ros-dev mailing list
> > > [e-mail]
> > > http://www.reactos.org/mailman/listinfo/ros-dev
>
> Ros-dev mailing list
> [e-mail]
> http://www.reactos.org/mailman/listinfo/ros-dev