[RFC]: Developer dashboard for tracking ecosystem build failures

Full name

Tejaswini Ramkumar Babu

University status

Yes

University name

Georgia Institute of Technology

University program

Computer Science with cooncentrations in AI and UI/UX

Expected graduation

May 2026

Short biography

Hello, I'm Tejaswini, I’m a Computer Science major at Georgia Tech with concentrations in Artificial Intelligence and Human-Computer Interaction, and I’m currently working as a researcher at the VisualizaXiong Lab and at an AI AVA Labs. My work revolves around deep learning and large language models, from analyzing gender bias in LLMs, enhancing household virtual assistants for improved user interactions, and creating a user friendly dashboard interface. I also enjoy making projects for social good as a part of Bits of Good, like my full-stack app that I am making to identify (using computer vision!) and raise money for stray cats on campus! I'm also an incoming Software Development Engineer at Amazon. Through these experiences, I’m well-versed in Java, Javascript, Node.js, CSS/TailwindCSS, SQL, PostgreSQL , React, Python, Linux, and full-stack development, as well as user-centric design and interdisciplinary collaboration. As a part of my previous lab, I’ve created materials and taught Machine Learning and Computer Science principles to grad students at the FishStalkers conference. I'm passionate about spreading knowledge and creating well-designed, user-centric technology that makes an impact, and I believe I’m the perfect fit to work on the developer dashboard for tracking ecosystem build failures.

Timezone

US Central Daylight Time Zone

Contact details

teja.ramkumarbabu@gmail.com

Platform

Mac

Editor

My favorite code editor is Visual Studio Code (VSCode) for many reasons. Firstly, it's lightweight, not demanding too much RAM, which allows me to run it efficiently even on less powerful hardware. The many extensions and themes available in its marketplace allows for a level of customization that helps me code better. Performance-wise, VSCode doesn't compromise on speed, offering a platform full of features that remains swift and responsive. The user interface is clean, modern, and intuitive, it can be personalized to fit my exact preferences, making my work experience better and more enjoyable. Furthermore, there is a great community surrounding VSCode with a lot of tutorials, guides, and community support that is accessible. Lastly, the integrated terminal is super helpful, allowing me to execute commands and scripts without ever leaving the editor, streamlining my development process.

Programming experience

Through my academic, research, and internship experiences, I've created a variety of projects, some of which I highlighted.

The most recent project involved developing a computer vision application aimed at improving the well-being of stray cats on the Georgia Tech campus. This app used advanced image recognition to identify individual cats, facilitating a community-driven approach to their care. This project was successful as it enhanced the welfare of over 20 cats and fostered a strong sense of community, raising more than $2000 for their care. However, we did have a setback, which was the ethical dilemma posed by the potential misuse of the cats' location data (for people who may want to harm the cats). I decided on implementing an anonymization layer, where I ensured the cats' safety without compromising the app's functionality. Furthermore, recognizing the power of collaboration, I engaged with campus security, veterinarians, and local animal welfare organizations, forming a vetted community of app users. This not only safeguarded the cats but also demonstrated a visionary approach to using technology for communal benefit.

In another project, I created a traffic congestion prediction tool, integrating data from NOAA (weather) and Waze (traffic) APIs to enhance road safety and efficiency. This tool, developed using SQL, Google Cloud, Python, and Pandas, allowed me to use complex datasets and predictive models to offer practical solutions to everyday challenges. By conducting user studies, we found that our app reduced commute times by 10-20%. This project directly contributes to improving transportation efficiency and, by extension, reducing the environmental footprint of vehicular traffic.

One of my greatest academic achievements is being featured in my CS class for the "Ghost Slayer" for the Game Boy Advanced Console game, where I pushed the boundaries of constrained computing environments and attempted a new language for the first time. This project allowed me to explore the efficient use of limited resources. I engineered the game in C, using low-level system operations and memory management, and this mirrors the precision required in programming spacecraft software. The game featured an intuitive UI and smooth animations, achieved through meticulous DMA calls to manipulate pixels and control video buffers directly. This required a deep understanding of the GBA's hardware and an innovative approach to maximize performance without sacrificing quality.

Another one of my achievements was through my research. At AVA Labs, I was able spearhead the development of a cutting-edge AI Virtual Assistant designed to streamline household tasks, using machine learning optimizations. This project really showed the interdisciplinary nature of modern engineering challenges, combining AI, machine learning, UI/UX design, and AR/VR technologies. I led a team to design a user-friendly dashboard that serves as the nerve center for the AI using python and javascript, ensuring seamless input-output congruence and enhancing the system's ability to understand and adapt to user sentiments. Our work in improving AR/VR interactions aimed at creating a more immersive and intuitive user experience. The project resulted in a tangible 10% improvement in our machine learning models. This sprint-like environment of continuous improvement and development mirrors industry practices of an iterative design process.

JavaScript experience

I've used JavaScript mainly as a part of Bits of Good website development team, where we create websites for social good organizations! I'm extremely fluent in JavaScript, and my favorite feature is how functions are treated like any other variable. This means that they can be passed as arguments to other functions, returned from functions, and assigned to variables. This allows for higher-order functions and has helped me with callbacks and async/await for handling asynchronous operations. My least favorite feature is JavaScript's type coercion, which can lead to some unintuitive issues when compared to the logic of other languages. The way JavaScript tries to convert and compare values of different types behind the scenes using abstract comparison (the == operator) often leads to unexpected results because it tries to convert different types to a common type before making the comparison. This means you need to have a good understanding of the coercion rules or the consistent use of the strict comparison operator (===) to avoid potential issues.

Node.js experience

I have extensive experience with Node.js, and this has been central to my development work, especially in building scalable and efficient back-end services. My familiarity with its libraries and asynchronous nature has allowed me to make apps that handle concurrent processes with ease, using the event-driven architecture of Node.js for optimal performance.

One of my notable projects is the Public Transportation App. This project was a full-stack one, inspired by the Google Developer Student Club challenge, focusing on UN Sustainable Development Goal 9, which targets innovations in infrastructure. The aim was to augment the usage of public transport in Georgia by providing an intuitive train interface.

This application, built on the powerful Node.js environment, incorporated a React front-end, leveraging Tailwind CSS for responsive design and modern UI/UX principles. I orchestrated the implementation of dynamic filtering, routing, and conditional rendering to enhance the interactivity of the app. I also used in-depth state management to ensure that the user experience remained seamless, even as real-time data demands increased.

My Node.js expertise was shown through the development lifecycle of this app, from setting up the server and API services to integrating middleware for handling requests and responses efficiently. I optimized the back-end with Node.js for performance and scalability while ensuring that the application’s architecture supported real-time data processing, which is important in public transportation.

C/Fortran experience

I have a fluent grasp on C after taking a school course on it recently, and I also have made a few projects using C, most notably my GBA game, as I discussed previously. I made a game called "Ghost Slayer" for the Game Boy Advanced Console game, where I pushed the boundaries of constrained computing environments and attempted a new language for the first time. This project allowed me to explore the efficient use of limited resources. I engineered the game in C, using low-level system operations and memory management, and this mirrors the precision required in programming spacecraft software. The game featured an intuitive UI and smooth animations, achieved through meticulous DMA calls to manipulate pixels and control video buffers directly. This required a deep understanding of the GBA's hardware and an innovative approach to maximize performance without sacrificing quality.

Interest in stdlib

Contributing to the stdlib project is exciting to me because of its high-quality mathematical and scientific utilities designed for Node.js and the browser. I use it as standard library not just for basic functionalities but also for advanced numerical computations, which is an area that JavaScript traditionally hasn't been strong in.

One of my favorite features would be its support for random number generation. stdlib provides a variety of generators, distributions, and utilities that cater to both simple use cases and complex statistical simulations. This level of support is particularly impressive because it fills a significant gap in JavaScript's native capabilities and positions stdlib as a practical toolkit for simulations and data analysis within JavaScript environments.

Lastly, the project’s commitment to open-source principles, comprehensive documentation, and the creation of a community around scientific computing in JavaScript is both admirable and essential for the growth of JavaScript as a language not just for web development, but for scientific and technical computing as well.

Version control

Yes

Contributions to stdlib

N/A, at least yet!

Goals

Objective: To build a real-time, intuitive, and responsive developer dashboard for monitoring and managing over 3500 repositories in the stdlib project, improving build failure detection and resolution, and enhancing ecosystem integrity.

Deliverables:

Source code for the backend and frontend of the developer dashboard.
Documentation covering setup, deployment, and contribution guidelines.
A deployment strategy that aligns with stdlib's current ecosystem.

Why this project?

Participating in the stdlib project offers an amazing chance to dive into its mathematical and scientific tools, crafted for Node.js and browsers. The idea of building a live, user-friendly developer dashboard with Node.js and PostgreSQL on the backend, coupled with the possibility of using cutting-edge frontend tech like ESBuild and TailwindCSS, really excites me. This project will not just boost my web development skills but also make a significant contribution to the stdlib community. From setting up solid API endpoints and crafting an engaging interface to rolling out real-time data displays, I'm eager to add value to stdlib. Plus, adding features like historical data views and easy access to build details will meaningfully improve the platform. stdlib's commitment to open-source, comprehensive documentation, and building a community around scientific computing in JavaScript is inspiring, highlighting the importance of expanding JavaScript's application to more technical and scientific fields.

Qualifications

I believe I'm well-prepared to take on this project, thanks to my studies at Georgia Tech and my hands-on experience. My coursework in JavaScript, C, Data Structures & Algorithms, Algorithm Design, and Machine Learning has given me a solid foundation in both the theory and practice of software development. This academic background has been important in shaping my approach to solving complex problems and understanding the intricacies of software systems.

My time as a Full Stack Web Developer at Bits of Good has been invaluable as well. Working with technologies like React, Node.js, MongoDB, Express, JavaScript, and HTML/CSS in these roles has given me practical experience in building scalable, user-focused applications. These experiences have also taught me the importance of teamwork in software development and how essential version control is when working on large-scale projects like the stdlib developer dashboard. At Bits of Good, I contributed to projects that made a real difference, which has prepared me well for the responsibility of improving the stdlib project's ecosystem integrity and build failure detection and resolution.

This project to create a real-time, intuitive developer dashboard feels like a perfect fit for me. I'm ready to tackle the backend development in the initial weeks, drawing on my experience with Node.js and database management. My skills in frontend development, gained from creating user interfaces and integrating them with backend services, will come into play during the frontend development phases. Furthermore, my testing and documentation work at Bits of Good have given me the skills to ensure the project's success in its final stages, leading to a smooth integration into the stdlib ecosystem.

Prior art

This project has been achieved with npm statusboard! The npm status board serves as a public monitor for the health and status of projects maintained by the npm CLI team. It is primarily developed using JavaScript, with some parts in CSS, HTML, and Handlebars. The board is designed to be a comprehensive view for monitoring the open-source projects under the npm organization. It includes features for adding and removing projects based on certain criteria, such as whether they are archived or have specific topics associated with them. The project also outlines steps for development, including updating project lists and daily data, serving or publishing the site, and considerations for forking the project. There is an open github for the npm statusboard: https://github.com/npm/statusboard

Commitment

I'm planning to commit 15-20 hour per week for 12 weeks during the Google Sumer of Code program! I hope to continue contributing to the repository, either to this project if it needs to be scaled further or to other projects!

Schedule

Week 1-2: Backend Development Kickstart

Understand and set up the Node.js development environment.
Establish a connection with the PostgreSQL database.

Start creating backend services for querying build results and related metadata. Week 3-4: Backend Services Completion

Finish backend query services for retrieving various data points (build statuses, commit history, etc.).
Implement API endpoints to serve the necessary data to the frontend.

Week 5-6: Initial Frontend Development

Initialize the frontend project with a modern stack (considering ESBuild, TailwindCSS).
Develop the basic UI components, focusing on functionality like display of repository build statuses.

Week 7-8: Frontend Development Continuation

Continue with frontend development: Implement interactive components such as filters for build status.
Integrate frontend with backend services to fetch and display data in real-time.

Week 9-10: Dashboard Enhancements and Navigation Features

Introduce navigation to repository resources and build artifacts.
Create components for viewing historical data and trends for build activities.

Week 11: Testing and Refinement

Rigorous testing of both backend and frontend components.
Refine user experience based on feedback, focusing on developer use cases.
Start documenting the features and usage of the dashboard.

Week 12: Final Testing, Documentation, and Launch Preparation

Finalize testing with a focus on security and performance.
Complete comprehensive documentation for future maintainability.
Prepare for dashboard deployment, ensuring seamless integration into stdlib's ecosystem.

Checklist

[X] I have read and understood the Code of Conduct.
[X] I have read and understood the application materials found in this repository.
[X] I understand that plagiarism will not be tolerated, and I have authored this application in my own words.
[X] I have read and understood the patch requirement which is necessary for my application to be considered for acceptance.
[X] The issue name begins with [RFC]: and succinctly describes your proposal.
[X] I understand that, in order to apply to be a GSoC contributor, I must submit my final application to https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/ before the submission deadline.

stdlib-js / google-summer-of-code