Namecoin Forum

Ben wrote:I would love to participate in GSoC as a student, working for Namecoin in it is a very exciting prospect!

Generate some ideas and coordinate with domob!

Ben wrote:I would love to participate in GSoC as a student, working for Namecoin in it is a very exciting prospect!

Great to hear! Do you already have an idea for a project (you can look at the suggestions higher up in this thread)?

To all: Any more remarks with respect to project ideas? Do you think those working on webpage redesign and things like this could get something done by the deadline for application?

domob wrote:To all: Any more remarks with respect to project ideas? Do you think those working on webpage redesign and things like this could get something done by the deadline for application?

Can we setup a wiki page for project ideas?

I can try to work on the .bit website redesign that I started... if anyone wants to help me with it that would be much appreciated. (Make a thread / PM me / find me on IRC.) I have school to deal with, plus a bunch of other obligations... so hopefully those don't mess me up.

I'm not sure that a simple redesign fits under the GSOC rubric....

indolering wrote:I'm not sure that a simple redesign fits under the GSOC rubric....

No, it would probably not. But I think that's not what biolizard89 meant, we're talking about getting a better website up already before applying as mentor organisation so that we have better chances of being accepted.

domob wrote:

indolering wrote:I'm not sure that a simple redesign fits under the GSOC rubric....

No, it would probably not. But I think that's not what biolizard89 meant, we're talking about getting a better website up already before applying as mentor organisation so that we have better chances of being accepted.

I think a web frontend to namecoind would be a good idea, unless someone is already working on that.

I spend last summer working at a local company using mostly Javascript, so that's where a lot of my experience lies.

Ben wrote:I think a web frontend to namecoind would be a good idea, unless someone is already working on that.

What exactly do you have in mind here? I can think of two (somewhat different) things that are a "web frontend to namecoind": One is a block explorer, which I think would be a good project, but you have to keep in mind that there are already existing projects out there (either ones like Abe which lack name support or the one by khal on http://explorer.dot-bit.org/, which could be made much more friendly using some JS and Ajax) and you may want to work off them instead of writing your own. (But I still think that this would be a great project of sufficient size!)

The other is a web wallet, ideally with client-side encryption of private keys, supporting not only currency transfers (like blockchain.info wallets for Bitcoin) but also names and the like. I don't know how much demand there is for such a wallet, but it would also be a great project, I think. This could also be made into a faucet giving out names instead of coins after a sufficient number of visits, like what I mentioned here half a year ago (or both).

I have some experience with JS and Ajax, too (from a "custom made SAP controlling system" I'm doing for a company here), as well as doing JSON-RPC communication with namecoind in a couple of languages already (PHP is one of them, you could use parts of the NameID code for the server side), so maybe I could help you with this project.

domob wrote:

Ben wrote:I think a web frontend to namecoind would be a good idea, unless someone is already working on that.

What exactly do you have in mind here? I can think of two (somewhat different) things that are a "web frontend to namecoind": One is a block explorer, which I think would be a good project, but you have to keep in mind that there are already existing projects out there (either ones like Abe which lack name support or the one by khal on http://explorer.dot-bit.org/, which could be made much more friendly using some JS and Ajax) and you may want to work off them instead of writing your own. (But I still think that this would be a great project of sufficient size!)

The other is a web wallet, ideally with client-side encryption of private keys, supporting not only currency transfers (like blockchain.info wallets for Bitcoin) but also names and the like. I don't know how much demand there is for such a wallet, but it would also be a great project, I think. This could also be made into a faucet giving out names instead of coins after a sufficient number of visits, like what I mentioned here half a year ago (or both).

I have some experience with JS and Ajax, too (from a "custom made SAP controlling system" I'm doing for a company here), as well as doing JSON-RPC communication with namecoind in a couple of languages already (PHP is one of them, you could use parts of the NameID code for the server side), so maybe I could help you with this project.

I was thinking of a full-fledged client which uses namecoind as the backend (communicating via JSON-RPC) and a web interface as the front end. You should be able to run it locally or on a dedicated server. Similar to how SABnzbd uses a web interface for it's front end if you've ever used that, it's nice because you run it on your computer but can check the status anywhere in your house, or even externally if you have it set up that way.

It should have a clean easy to use drag/drop kind of interface, and provide features such as NMC management, address books, name management, auto renewal, etc. It could incorporate the main namespace specifications too, providing an easy way to insert valid JSON for a novice. Perhaps it could incorporate block explorer features too.

What are your thoughts on something like this?

Integrate a lightweight, forwarding (and optionally caching) DNS service into the client and have it serve .bit from the blockchain. It should autodetect the existing resolver and forward the other TLDs to it. Fire up namecoind, set your nameserver to 127.0.0.1, and away you go!