OpenAstronomy · nabobalis · May 14, 2026 · Mar 31, 2026 · Mar 31, 2026 · Mar 31, 2026
@@ -0,0 +1,111 @@
+# Improving radiospectra's Functionality and Interoperability
+
+## Contributor Information
+
+- **Name:** Mohamed Ali BENBELGHITH
+- **Time-zone:** UTC+1 (Tunisia)
+- **Matrix/Slack/IRC Handle:** @medali\_\_:matrix.org
+- **GitHub Username:** [MohamedAli1937](https://github.com/MohamedAli1937)
+- **Blog:** [https://mohamedali1937.github.io/post01/](https://mohamedali1937.github.io/post01/)
+- **Blog RSS feed:** N/A
+- **PR Links:**
+  - [#167: Adds slice method and associated tests (Open - In Review)](https://github.com/sunpy/radiospectra/pull/167)
+  - [#181: Fixes time gap rendering in pcolormesh plots (Open - In Review)](https://github.com/sunpy/radiospectra/pull/181)
+  - [#187: Fix metadata key mismatch in factory pipeline (Open - In Review)](https://github.com/sunpy/radiospectra/pull/187)
+  - [#188: Adds peek() function for GenericSpectrogram (Open - In Review)](https://github.com/sunpy/radiospectra/pull/188)
+  - [#189: Add equality and copy methods (Open - In Review)](https://github.com/sunpy/radiospectra/pull/189)
+
+### Background
+
+I am a 2nd-year undergraduate Software Engineering student at INSAT, Tunisia, with a deep passion for mathematics, physics, and intelligence. Combining these interests with software engineering, I work with OpenAstronomy to bridge the gap between legacy radio astronomy data formats and modern Python ecosystems. My focus is on developing robust, test-driven, and mathematically sound architectures.
+
+### Interest in OpenAstronomy
+
+I want to contribute to OpenAstronomy because I strongly believe in the power of unified, interoperable data ecosystems. While working on `radiospectra`, I noticed how fragmented certain array structures were compared to core SunPy standards. My goal for this GSoC project is to make handling `radiospectra` data identical to handling core SunPy objects—seamless, intuitive, and scientifically accurate. I am highly active in the community, checking Matrix channels daily, stress-testing the codebase with real instrument data, and employing test-driven development (TDD) to address deep architectural issues.
+
+---
+
+## Project Proposal
+
+**Proposal Title:** Improving radiospectra's Functionality and Interoperability
+
+**Organisation:** OpenAstronomy (SunPy)
+
+### Summary
+
+Radiospectra’s current design forces manual array indexing and error-prone coordinate handling, resulting in visualization artifacts and limiting scientific efficiency. This project modernizes Radiospectra into a highly interoperable, coordinate-aware framework.
+
+By inheriting from `NDCube` and integrating Astropy’s World Coordinate System (WCS) mappings, this project unlocks:
+
+- Physical unit slicing
+- Seamless extra coordinate caching via `ExtraCoords`
+- Deterministic visualization rendering
+
+The new `Spectra` class naturally supports Python slicing (e.g., `spec[1:5, :-4]`), equality checks, and deep copying, achieving API parity with the SunPy ecosystem. Previous PRs (#167, #181, #187) have already laid a foundation for this work.
+
+### Key Deliverables
+
+1. **Coordinate-Aware Spectra:** A modernized `Spectra` class inheriting from `NDCube` with full WCS mapping, `ExtraCoords` integration, and axis-aware physical slicing.
+
+2. **Background Subtraction Framework:** High-performance C-level vectorized rolling minimums (`scipy.ndimage.minimum_filter1d`) and polynomial fitting for instrument thermal drift removal.
+
+3. **Gap-Aware Visualization:** Deterministic gap detection algorithm ($\Delta t > C \cdot (1+\epsilon)$) with arrays padded using `numpy.ma.masked_invalid()` to prevent misleading visual stretching, integrated with `@peek_show`.
+
+4. **Documentation & Tutorial Gallery:** Narrative-style docs (`spectrogram.rst`) following `sunpy.map` conventions, legacy support with deprecation warnings, and beginner-to-advanced Jupyter notebook tutorials.
+
+> _Note:_ Data extraction scrapers (e.g., eCALLISTO) will remain in `radiospectra` to avoid scope creep and external dependencies, as per mentor guidance.
+
+---
+
+### Implementation Timeline (350 Hours)
+
+| Period            | Task & Deliverables                                                                                                       |
+| :---------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
+| Community Bonding | Map WCS requirements, establish PR strategies, and define API design constraints with mentors.                            |
+| Week 1            | **Core Architecture:** Create `Spectra` class, constructor, and initial `pytest` suites.                                  |
+| Week 2            | Integrate `ExtraCoords` for frequency sweeps; implement `freq_at_index()` and `time_at_index()` using Astropy `Quantity`. |
+| Week 3            | Update PSP RFS and SOLO RPW readers to produce NDCube objects; validate with `pytest.mark.remote_data`.                   |
+| Week 4            | Implement axis-aware physical slicing; achieve `sunpy.map.Map.submap()` parity.                                           |
+| Week 5            | Build Background Subtraction API; implement vectorized `rolling_min` and polynomial fits.                                 |
+| Week 6            | Finalize custom `_custom_bg(data, meta)` interface; complete NumpyDoc math documentation.                                 |
+| Week 7            | Implement physical rebinning, `.flatten()`, and intensity normalization.                                                  |
+| Week 8            | Develop deterministic gap detection ($\Delta t > C \cdot (1+\epsilon)$) as standalone function.                           |
+| Week 9            | Overhaul Plotting Mixin with `masked_invalid()` edge handling; apply native `@peek_show` parity.                          |
+| Week 10           | Apply `AstropyDeprecationWarning` to legacy `GenericSpectrogram`; draft migration guides.                                 |
+| Week 11           | Build rich Jupyter notebook gallery with 3+ complex workflows.                                                            |
+| Week 12           | Resolve pending reviews, ensure 100% test coverage, finalize documentation, and submit evaluations.                       |
+
+> _Note:_ Every single week in the timeline includes writing and passing the corresponding `pytest` suites before merging. Special attention is given to:
+>
+> - Coordinate & Slicing Parity (Weeks 4–7)
+> - Real Data Readers (Week 6)
+> - Visualization Integrity (Weeks 11–12)
+
+---
+
+## GSoC Participation
+
+- **Previous Participation:** None, this is my first GSoC.
+- **Applying to Other Projects:** No, fully dedicated to this OpenAstronomy project.
+- **Availability:** 350-hour project (~25–30 hours/week). University semester concludes before coding period, ensuring uninterrupted full-time focus. Eid al-Adha holiday (May 27--28) is the only planned exception.
+
+---
+
+## Additional Notes
+
+### Test-Driven Development (TDD)
+
+- Every weekly deliverable includes comprehensive `pytest` suites.
+- High-risk areas will use `pytest.mark.remote_data` to validate real CDF files (catching issues like PR #187).
+- Figure regression tests will ensure accurate visualization parity with SunPy standards.
+
+### Communication Strategy
+
+- **Daily:** Monitor Matrix/Element channels.
+- **Weekly:** Live video check-ins with mentors.
+- **Continuous:** GitHub PR review and issue tracking.
+- **Timezone:** UTC+1 (flexible for mentors).
+
+### Community Engagement
+
+I am active and check the Element (Matrix) communications channel daily to stay closely synced with the core team. During the recent holy month of Ramadan, attending the 18:00 UTC weekly meetings was impossible as they coincided with Iftar. I successfully compensated by maintaining rigorous asynchronous communication with mentors via Matrix and GitHub PR reviews. I am now eager to transition to attending live meetings, as standard schedules have resumed.