I, Vladimir Petko, apply for Ubuntu Contributing Developer

I am applying because:

• I'd like to be an official member of the Ubuntu community.

Who I am

A software developer from Hamilton, New Zealand currently employed by Canonical within the Foundations team. When I am not in front of the computer I enjoy spending time mountain biking or hiking.

My Ubuntu story

My involvement

As a member of the toolchains squad my primary focus is Java and Java packages, though as part of normal Foundations work I am exposed to a wider range of packages, e.g. my first task was fixing cryptsetup autopackage test which was uploaded on 2nd of December so it is 9 months of participation in Ubuntu.

Examples of my work / Things I'm proud of

Include your existing sponsored uploads for the packages for which you are seeking upload rights. You can link directly to an upload by following this pattern.

* Fixing ca-certificates-java installation

* Correcting test environment and quarantine list for build-time openjdk jtreg tests, e.g. openjdk-17, openjdk-lts

* openjdk packaging-related bugs, e.g. missing symbols, Jlink image bloat which also reduced installation size without debug symbols

* While not a directly distro work, I am proud of contributing to openjdk upstream JDK-8305480, JDK-8305481, JDK-8309847,JDK-8305481, JDK-8311092, JDK-8312488

* General list of changes done

Areas of work

Let us know what you worked on, with which development teams / developers with whom you cooperated and how it worked out.

During 23.04 and 23.10 development cycles outside Foundations I have mostly communicated with the Security Team due to the work on OpenJDK security releases.

Things I could do better

Better attention to detail and more use of automation to avoid producing irrecoverable typos in my work. Improve communication skills/get to know more people in the community.

Plans for the future

General

Plan and perform openjdk-21 default transition - a few packages will require compatibility patches as the current release level (7) is no longer supported. Be more involved in upstream OpenJDK, e.g. RISCV port as it is now an official architecture. Reduce technical debt of OpenJDK and upstream our patches to minimise the maintenance burden.

What I like least in Ubuntu

I really like Ubuntu as an operating system - used in since ~2011 both in work and study, but the source code tooling, e.g. LaunchPad UI is not very convenient to use, especially compared with the likes of Github and Gitlab. The integration might be difficult due to the license restrictions and technical issues, so I can not propose a good way forward here.

Comments

If you'd like to comment, but are not the applicant or a sponsor, do it here. Don't forget to sign with @SIG@.

Endorsements

As a sponsor, just copy the template below, fill it out and add it to this section.

Michael Hudson-Doyle

General feedback

I've worked on the foundation team since Vladimir started at Canonical and our shared timezone has meant that we have interacted more than might otherwise have been the case. Right from the start, when he got assigned some pretty hairy packaging issues I've found him to be an intelligent and thoughtful contributor, always willing to learn and put the effort in to ensure Ubuntu's users have the best experience.

I have been particularly impressed with his ability to dive into unfamiliar territory during his +1 shifts. Staring him down the process of formal Ubuntu membership will only enable him to become more effective over time.

Specific Experiences of working together

I have sponsored a few of Vladimir's packages (including his first upload, https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/cryptsetup/2:2.5.0-6ubuntu2), most of which have required no revisions. The most noteworthy was probably an openjdk-8 merge https://code.launchpad.net/~vpa1977/ubuntu/+source/openjdk-8/+git/openjdk-8/+merge/442697.

Areas of Improvement

As with all fairly new contributors, there are surely more corners of Ubuntu development to learn about. I'm not sure he has driving a library transition yet, for example.

The nature of work means he is familiar with stable release updates, but as these usually go to -security pocket I'm not sure he has driving many "regular" SRUs. I'm sure he'd do a good job of it though!

Dan Bungert

General feedback

I have also worked with Vladimir since he joined Canonical, and have sponsored 6 uploads for him during that time. Vladimir has responsibility for some challenging Java packages. He is doing a great job of picking up the Ubuntu processes, git-ubuntu, working with upstream and Debian, etc.

Vladimir is an easy 'yes' for Contributing Developer and I look forward to his continued growth toward upload rights.

Specific Experiences of working together

* https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/openjdk-8/8u382-ga-1ubuntu1 - he fixed a build dependency issue

* https://code.launchpad.net/~vpa1977/ubuntu/+source/clamav/+git/clamav/+merge/448201 - a recent one, ongoing, being worked with upstream

Areas of Improvement

* There is some nuance in what we should upload directly, and when we should work on a change with upstream. As Vladimir is helping with +1 I'm confident he'll continue to grow in that area.

-- dbungert 2023-08-08 16:51:35

Graham Inggs

General feedback

I've sponsored twelve uploads for Vladimir in the last six months. The quality has been excellent, and I don't recall any of them requiring changes. Vladimir has a good understanding of Ubuntu packaging, and has quickly picked up Ubuntu processes such as autopkgtests, proposed migration and +1 maintenance. I trust Vladimir is ready to be a Contributing Developer right now.

Specific Experiences of working together

A sync of pastebinit, after verifying all the Ubuntu delta could be dropped: https://code.launchpad.net/~vpa1977/ubuntu/+source/pastebinit/+git/pastebinit/+merge/437927

A new upstream release of openjdk-20: https://code.launchpad.net/~vpa1977/ubuntu/+source/openjdk-20/+git/openjdk-20/+merge/440200

Sometimes it takes me longer to read Vladimir's detailed commit messages than review the actual changes.

Areas of Improvement

I'm sure Vladimir will gain more experience with merges and become familiar with transitions and SRUs on his way to becoming a Core Developer.

Eduardo Barretto

General feedback

I've sponsored a few OpenJDK (8, 11, 17 and 20) security uploads for Vladimir in the last six months. The quality has been excellent, and just once we had an issue while doing the uploading (final process). Vladimir has a good understanding Java and Ubuntu packaging, and has quickly started providing quality OpenJDK security uploads for the Security Team to sponsor. I believe Vladimir is ready for more challenges and to be a Contributing Developer.

Specific Experiences of working together

Here are some of the OpenJDK uploads that Vladimir prepared and I've sponsored:

https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-6077-1

https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-6263-1

https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-6272-1

Areas of Improvement

As Vladimir mentioned himself, attention to details is key to packaging and I think we only learn as we go and make mistakes. Vladimir is on the right path and will improve on it as he contributes more.

TEMPLATE

== <SPONSORS NAME> ==
=== General feedback ===
## Please fill us in on your shared experience. (How many packages did you sponsor? How would you judge the quality? How would you describe the improvements? Do you trust the applicant?)

=== Specific Experiences of working together ===
''Please add good examples of your work together, but also cases that could have handled better.''
## Full list of sponsored packages can be generated here:
##  https://udd.debian.org/cgi-bin/ubuntu-sponsorships.cgi
=== Areas of Improvement ===