Google Season of Docs 2022
Each year Google brings students and open source projects together in the Season of Docs. This page tracks Wireshark's participation in GSoD 2022.
Guidelines
The ideas below have been contributed by Wireshark's community of developers and users. Some of them are "what ifs". Some are based on very specific and immediate needs.
If you are adding an idea below, please be as clear and provide as much information as possible. Projects that can be completed in about 12 weeks are preferred.
Status
We're collecting proposals for projects. See "Ideas" below. The mentor organization application has *not* been completed.
Important dates (from Timeline):
- 2022-03-25 18:00 UTC - Deadline for organization applications
- 2022-04-14 18:00 UTC - Google publishes the list of accepted mentoring organizations
- 2022-04-14 18:00 UTC - Doc development can officially begin
- 2022-05-14 18:00 UTC - Technical writer hiring deadline
- 2022-11-30 18:00 UTC - Organization administrators submit their case study and final project evaluation
Links
Ideas
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Update screenshots from GTK UI to QT UI. Document (in comments) which version of Wireshark and which PCAP was used to create the screenshot. PCAPs should be available from the Wireshark Wiki or bug tracker.
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Remediate the known documentation issues:
Others
The above list of projects are suggested examples. Feel free to propose your own idea on the wireshark-dev mailing list.
Proposal
Project proposal title
Update Wireshark User Guide screenshots
About your organization
Wireshark is the world's foremost network protocol analyzer. It lets you see what's happening on your network at a microscopic level. It is the de facto (and often de jure) standard across many industries and educational institutions.
Wireshark development thrives thanks to the contributions of networking experts across the globe. It is the continuation of a project that started in 1998.
About your project
Problem
Many of the screenshots in the Wireshark user guide are significantly out of date. This is exacerbated when the GUI was migrated from Gtk to Qt, but not all screenshots were updated. This makes it harder for users to follow the examples in the documentation, causing a much poorer user experience.
Scope
We'd like a technical writer to update the screenshots in the Wireshark User Guide and the documentation surrounding those screenshots so that the user guide is fully up to date and an accurate reference for users.
Measuring your project’s success
Success will be measured as the number of screenshots that were reviewed and updated by the technical writer.
Timeline
The project itself will take approximately six months to complete. The first month will be focused on how to build Wireshark, generate the user guides, and submit pull requests on Gitlab. The remaining months will be focused on updating the screenshots and associated documentation. Note that although there are approximately 140 screenshots, not all will need to be updated.
Budget
- Technical writer updating Wireshark user guide: $6,000
- Project T-shirts (10): $300
Total: $6,300
Additional information
Wireshark previously participated in GSoD 2020 (https://developers.google.com/season-of-docs/docs/2020/participants/project-wireshark-alexnik) with great success. The planned Wireshark mentor for 2022 is not the same as 2020, but directly assisted the 2020 technical writer.
The result
Technical Writer Posting
As part of Google Season of Docs, Wireshark is looking for a technical writer to update the screenshots in the Wireshark User Guide and the documentation surrounding those screenshots so that the user guide is fully up to date and an accurate reference for users.
The technical writer will have access to a mentor who can help them set up their environment, assist with issues that arise, and review their edits.
If you're interested, please email the following to wireshark_gsod@moshekaplan.com:
- A resume
- Examples of prior experience contributing documentation improvements to an open-source project or a technical writing sample (2 page max, subsequent pages will not be reviewed)
Additional Details:
The technical writer will need to perform the following steps for each screenshot in the Wireshark User Guide (WSUG):
- Compare it to the current display in Wireshark. If it differs from the screenshot already in the WSUG:
- Create a new screenshot
- Compress the screenshot using the existing compress-pngs script (https://gitlab.com/wireshark/wireshark/-/blob/master/tools/compress-pngs.py)
- Document in the user guide which version of Wireshark was used for the screenshot, and if it is from a PCAP, which PCAP was used (upload to Wiki if not already present) For example: // Wireshark 3.6.3 on Windows. PCAP: https://gitlab.com/wireshark/wireshark/-/wikis/uploads/__moin_import__/attachments/SampleCaptures/arp-storm.pcap
- Examine the surrounding documentation for any outdated information or outdated references (e.g., to GTK or a button no longer present) and update as needed
- Submit the correction as a Gitlab merge request
The Wireshark version used for screenshots should be the newest build of Wireshark, either obtained by compiling the code or by installing a nightly build.
Please note that although there are many screenshots, not all will need to be updated.