There is a running gag built into openQA called interactive mode. It goes like this: "if you need the interactive mode, it's broken". The reason: the so called interactive mode is a collection of hacks - in theory making it possible to update needles in a running test. But in fact it's a UI desaster that almost never works. So the goal of this hackweek project is to get rid of it - and instead build a real control from the webui into the backend allowing tests to be written on the fly including needle creation/updates. Easy as that.

Are you interested in pairing? Are you wondering whether it is something that would help you and your team members in your current project? Would you like to try it out before you fully commit to such an extreme idea? Then this is your lucky day Sir/Madam! Within the Cloud Foundry project you are expected to pair pretty much every time you are working on something. In the BOSH OpenStack CPI team this isn't the exception, so I've been doing it for the past 15 months. I'd like to transfer some of that experience to you fellow SUSE colleague. We can discuss about the pros and cons that this agile methodology has. For example, there are many misconceptions on how to pair, for once, having the right hardware makes a huge difference. During Hack Week 16 you have the chance to test drive a dual-control workstation (see image) which I believe is one of the biggest differentiators to have a good experience when pairing full time.

After an internal call for help to take over software.opensuse.org deployment, I spend some time studying the code in order to find out what would it mean to take it over. The main reason was a PR from the community that has not been merged, and deployment depending on internal SUSE employees.

Let's use the Hackweek to improve Ruby, the programming language I use every day. It is while using a language when you can realised that things that need/can to be improved, so there are many things that only Ruby developers can raise up. Also, getting involved in the development of Ruby will help to get a better understanding of how it works. So I will take my ideas/concerns to the Ruby community and implement some of the them in the code of the Ruby core. Ruby features and bugs are tracked in https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/projects/ruby-trunk/issues

A good way of getting to know a new programming language is... writing some code. So although there are some good IRC bouncers, like ZNC, we want to write another one just for learning. But why an IRC bouncer? Because it is not rocket science, but it implies network communication (acting as client and as server at the same time), handling concurrent connections... in a few words: it sounds fun.

Hackweek is a place for fun and things and also great things and a lot of fun. Some things don't require a reason - they are fun, that's all to it. Here goes a small competition with a lot of fun to it. Find Klaas in the office.

2019