This year we are again participating in the Google Summer of Code. The MariaDB Foundation believes we are making a better database that remains application compatible with MySQL. We also work on making LGPL connectors (currently C, C++, ODBC, Java, Node.js) and on MariaDB Galera Cluster, which allows you to scale your reads & writes. And we have MariaDB ColumnStore, which is a columnar storage engine, designed to process petabytes of data with real-time response to analytical queries.

Where to Start

Please join us on Zulip to mingle with the community. You should also subscribe to [email protected] (this is the main list where we discuss development).

To improve your chances of being accepted, it is a good idea to submit a pull request with a bug fix to the server.

Also see the List of beginner friendly issues from the MariaDB Issue Tracker.

List of Tasks

MariaDB Server

MDEV-30610 Update RocksDB to the latest upstream version

Full-time project 350h

Our version of RocksDB is lagging behind the current upstream and needs to be updated. This isn't a case of simply updating the submodule, there have been significant API changes. It will likely require porting the latest MyRocks code over to the MariaDB storage API.

Skills needed: Understanding of C/C++ development. Preferably some experience with the MariaDB or MySQL codebase (but not essential).
Mentor: Andrew Hutchings

MDEV-17398 Spatial (GIS) functions in MariaDB

Part-time (175h) or full-time project (350h) - depending on scope

Our GIS functionality is limitted compared to other DBMSes. Given that MariaDB looks to facilitate migration from MySQL, we should be on par. We have a list of functions that are missing in MariaDB compared to MySQL, as described in https://mariadb.com/kb/en/function-differences-between-mariadb-1010-and-mysql-80/.
Our goal is to have as many of these functions available within MariaDB. Some of the functionality can be ported from MySQL, while others might require implementation from scratch.

Skills needed: Understanding of C++ development. Ability to navigate a large codebase (with help from mentor).
Mentors: Anel Husakovic (primary) / Vicențiu Ciorbaru (secondary)

MDEV-16482 MariaDB Oracle mode misses Synonyms

Full-time project 350h

Synonyms are an important feature, particularly as it helps smooth migration from other databases. While the initial project scope seems straightforward, there are a number of aspects that must be considered:

1. Grammar extension
2. Where will the synonyms definitions be stored?
3. How do synonyms map to the underlying privilege system? Who can create a synonym? Who can access a synonym?
4. Do we enforce the underlying object to exists before creating a synonym? What if the underlying object gets dropped?
5. What kind of error messages do we present to the user in various corner cases?
6. How do synonyms interact with replication (row based vs statement based)
7. How do synonyms interact with views (and views execution)
8. How to present synonyms to users (as part of INFORMATION_SCHEMA for instance?)
9. Performance considerations for multiple connections to the database.

Skills needed: Understanding of C++ development. Able to write and discuss various tradeoffs such that we achieve a feature set that makes sense given the database's priorities.
Mentors: Vicențiu Ciorbaru (primary) / Michael Widenius (secondary)

GH-457 MariaDB in Docker / Podman - ColumnStore storage engine deployment

Part-time project 175h / Full-time project 350h - depending on scope

MariaDB ships with ColumnStore as a storage engine. However the architecture of ColumnStore is not like a traditional storage engine. Instead it relies on multiple database nodes working in unison. This means that starting up a ColumnStore enabled MariaDB service is not a trivial endeavor. This project seeks to create the necessary tooling around starting MariaDB with ColumnStore inside docker / podman containers. You will be writing Dockerfiles, configuration files as well as bash / python scripts to achieve this.

The challenge of this project lies in:

1. Limited documentation around ColumnStore. There will be some time spent on the discovery process.
2. Formulating a clear plan to facilitate:
   1. Starting MariaDB with ColumnStore
   2. Upgrading MariaDB with ColumnStore on a version upgrade
   3. Creating health checks
   4. Setting configuration variables via environment switches where appropriate
   5. Declaratively (likely docker-compose yml file) state the system's architecture.
   6. Optionally enable deployment via Kubernetes
3. Implementing the plan and creating a CI/CD pipeline for testing.

Skills needed: Understanding of C++ development. Able to write and discuss various tradeoffs such that we achieve a feature set that makes sense given the database's priorities.
Mentors: Daniel Black (primary - docker) / Andrew Hutchings (secondary - ColumnStore)

MDEV-6166 LOAD DATA INFILE - store all warnings

Part-time project 175h

The main focus of this project is around developer / sysadmin experience. We want to improve the quality of life of those using MariaDB. Migrating large datasets is one of these challenges. As is described in the MDEV, a simple limitation related to LOAD DATA INFILE can severly hamper developer productivity. A related problem is discussed in MDEV-13046.

The goal of this project is to come up with a solution for storing warnings during LOAD DATA INFILE. This will require modifying the existing server codebase to create an SQL interface for processing the generated warnings.

Challenges:

• LOAD DATA INFILE can process large datasets. That means that the server must not just store all warnings in memory. You will need to make use of already existing mechanisms (creating temporary tables) so one can spill to disk.

Skills needed: Understanding of C++ development.
Mentors: Anel Husakovic (primary) / Daniel Black (secondary)

Buildbot (CI/CD)

MDBF-320 Better Grid view for buildbot.mariadb.org (Python / Javascript / Web Dev

Full-time project 350h

Our CI/CD infrastructure uses a recent version of Buildbot. The GRID view plugin that comes with Buildbot is not adequate for our needs. In this project, you will discuss with your mentor as well as other MariaDB developers on how to best improve the User Experience of Buildbot's grid view for what MariaDB Developers needs to accomplish.

Skills needed: Understanding of web-dev technologies like Angular, React, and Javascript related libraries. Python may also be required.
Mentor: Vlad Bogolin

Suggest a Task

Do you have an idea of your own, not listed above? Do let us know!