Astropy: Hardening Astropy’s Core Stability (Yorgos Vasilantonakis)

2026/astropy/astropy-core_hardening-yorgos.md

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+# Hardening astropy’s core stability - Yorgos Vasilantonakis
+
+
+## Contributor Information
+* **Name:** Yorgos Vasilantonakis
+* **Time-zone:** EET (GMT+2)
+* **Matrix/slack/IRC Handle:**
+* **Github/forge username:** toastmt
+* **Blog:**
+* **Blog RSS feed:**
+* **PR link(s):** #19452 WIP: Standalone C-level tests for 1D convolution (GSoC 2026) (https://github.com/astropy/astropy/pull/19452)
+
+### Background
+My name is Yorgos and I'm currently doing a CS conversion degree, building on my previous BSc in Physics. Over the last year I have focused on C and Python. I was drawn to this project because it perfectly bridges my two backgrounds. It allows me to apply my recent CS focus to the mathematical concepts I studied in physics.
+
+### Interest in OpenAstronomy
+Coming from a physics background I've worked with free and open-source programs and have come to appreciate all the software that powers modern scientific discovery. As someone who grew up with sci-fi and astronomy magazines and books, I find the prospect of contributing to a major astronomical codebase like Astropy to be incredibly exciting. I think the specific project idea looks interesting, as it alligns with my current interest in C, and it seems like something I could be useful for.
+
+## Project Proposal Application
+**Proposal Title:** Hardening astropy’s core stability
+
+**Organisation:** Astropy
+
+### **Summary:**
+I am drawn to this project because it sits exactly at the intersection of my skill sets. My primary programming focus is in C, making Astropy's C core an ideal environment for me to contribute. I am also very interested in analyzing performance-critical C code in a real world codebase. 
+
+### Deliverables
+* **1.** Direct tests for astropy/convolution/src/_convolve.c
+* **2.** Direct tests for astropy/timeseries/periodograms/bls/bls.c
+* **3.** Direct tests for astropy/wcs/src/ files
+* **4.** CI/CD pipeline and documentation
+
+### Description/timeline
+
+|Period|Description|
+|------|-----------|
+|Community Bonding period| Map all C-functions to be tested in the project, set up the dev environment, assign priorities and testing implementation strategy with mentors.|
+| week 1-2 | convolution: Expand the current prototype tests into a full testing package for convolve.c. Focus on edge cases (NaNs, empty arrays, infinity).|
+| week 3-4 | bls: Create a full c test package to validate the mathematical accuracy of the bls.c periodogram core.|
+| week 5-10 | wcs: Work to create tests for the c files in the world coordinate system folder.|
+| week 11-12 | Handle final bug fixes, CI/CD test integration, write documentation. |
+
+## GSoC
+
+### Have you participated previously in GSoC? When? With which project?
+No
+### Are you also applying to other projects?
+No
+### Schedule availability
+I'll be fully available during the time of the programme, no holidays planned
+
+
+## Other comments
+I have spent some time trying to understand the logic in some of the c files in the astropy codebase. To better understand the implementation I concentrated on the convolve.c file which implements convolution algorithms for 1D, 2D and 3D. I compiled the file and developed a small standalone testing file that interacts directly with the convolve1d_c function at the C level, and which contains a few simple tests for the 1D case. This has helped me understand the 1D convolution algorithm well.