SoC-2025: include initial draft of ideas list

The ideas were suggested by Patrick on the mailing list.

Ref: https://public-inbox.org/git/[email protected]/

Author: sivaraam

SoC-2024-Ideas.md

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 ![git logo >](https://git-scm.com/images/logos/downloads/Git-Logo-2Color.svg)

SoC-2025-Ideas.md

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+![git logo >](https://git-scm.com/images/logos/downloads/Git-Logo-2Color.svg)
+
+This is the idea page for Summer of Code 2025 for Git.
+
+*Please completely read the [general application information](https://git.github.io/General-Application-Information)
+page before reading the idea list below.*
+
+## Summer of code main project ideas
+
+**Students**: Please consider these ideas as starting points for
+generating proposals. We are also more than happy to receive proposals
+for other ideas related to Git. Make sure you have read the "Note
+about refactoring projects versus projects that implement new
+features" in the [general application information](https://git.github.io/General-Application-Information)
+page though.
+
+### Note about limit of project selection
+
+Kindly note that considering the bandwidth of available mentors, the
+Git project would only mentor up to 2 contributors this year.
+
+This is not a hard and fast rule. It may change if more community members are
+willing to mentor in the coming days. For instance, this may happen when
+a new project is proposed and some community member volunteers to mentor
+the same.
+
+
+### Consolidate ref-related functionality into git-refs
+
+This project aims to streamline Git's reference management into the existing
+`git-refs` command by consolidating functionality currently spread
+across multiple commands. The new command will provide subcommands for listing,
+getting, checking existence, writing, and optimizing references, replacing the
+functionality currently handled by git-update-ref(1), git-for-each-ref(1),
+git-show-ref(1), and git-pack-refs(1).
+
+The consolidation work should ensure backward compatibility with existing
+commands. The work involves C programming in Git's codebase, creating
+comprehensive tests, and updating documentation.
+
+Required skills include C programming, familiarity with Git's codebase, and experience with command-line tool development. The project is expected to take 12 weeks, with existing commands being maintained for backward compatibility while development focuses on the new unified interface.
+
+Getting started: Build Git from source, study the existing ref-related commands, and submit a micro-patch to demonstrate familiarity with the codebase.
+
+_Expected Project Size_: 175 hours or 350 hours
+
+_Difficulty_: Medium
+
+_Languages_: C, shell(bash)
+
+_Possible mentors_:
+
+* Patrick Steinhardt < <[email protected]> >
+* Jialuo She < <[email protected]> >
+
+
+### Refactoring in order to reduce Git's global state
+
+This project focuses on modernizing Git's environment handling by refactoring
+the `environment.c` code to reduce global state. The goal is to move environment
+variables and configuration from global scope into more appropriate local
+contexts, primarily into the `struct repository` / `struct repository_settings`
+structure. This architectural improvement will make the codebase more
+maintainable and potentially enable better multi-repository handling in the
+future. The project involves careful refactoring of Git's core environment
+handling code, requiring strong C programming skills and attention to detail.
+
+The student will identify global variables that can be moved to local scope,
+implement the necessary structural changes, and ensure all affected code paths
+continue to work correctly. This includes updating tests, fixing any
+regressions, and documenting the architectural changes. 
+
+_Expected Project Size_: 90 or 175 hours or 350 hours
+
+_Difficulty_: Medium
+
+_Languages_: C, shell(bash)
+
+_Possible mentors_:
+
+* Patrick Steinhardt < <[email protected]> >
+
+
+### Machine-Readable Repository Information Query Tool
+
+This project aims to create a new Git command dedicated to querying repository
+metadata and configuration in a structured, machine-readable format. Currently,
+much of this functionality exists within git-rev-parse(1), which has evolved
+beyond its original purpose. The new command will provide a cleaner, more
+focused interface for programmatically accessing repository information using
+JSON output.
+
+The student will design and implement this new command, focusing on identifying
+what repository information should be exposed, designing a consistent JSON
+schema, and implementing the necessary interfaces to Git's internal APIs. Key
+challenges include determining which subset of information from git-rev-parse to
+expose via this new command, ensuring backward compatibility, and creating a
+clean, well-documented command interface that's useful for scripts and tools.
+
+While this is an exploratory project that hasn't been extensively discussed in
+the Git community, it addresses a real need for better programmatic access to
+repository information.
+
+_Expected Project Size_: 175 hours or 350 hours
+
+_Difficulty_: Medium
+
+_Languages_: C, shell(bash)
+
+_Possible mentors_:
+
+* Patrick Steinhardt < <[email protected]> >