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CONTRIBUTING.rst

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Contributing

The recommended procedure for contributing code to this repository is detailed here. It is the standard method of contributing to Github based repositories (https://help.github.com/articles/fork-a-repo).

If you have don't have access rights to this repository then you should fork the repository on Github using the Github UI and clone the fork that you just made to your machine:

git clone [email protected]:<your-username>/GaitAnalysisToolKit.git

Change into the directory:

cd GaitAnalysisToolKit

Now, setup a remote called upstream that points to the main repository so that you can keep your local repository up-to-date:

git remote add upstream [email protected]:csu-hmc/GaitAnalysisToolKit.git

Now you have a remote called origin (the default) which points to your Github account's copy and a remote called upstream that points to the main repository on the csu-hmc organization Github account.

It's best to keep your local master branch up-to-date with the upstream master branch and then branch locally to create new features. To update your local master branch simply:

git checkout master
git pull upstream master

If you have access rights to the main repository simply, clone it and don't worry about making a fork on your Github account:

git clone [email protected]:csu-hmc/GaitAnalysisToolKit.git

Change into the directory:

cd GaitAnalysisToolKit

Now, to contribute a change to the repository you should create a new branch off of the local master branch:

git checkout -b my-branch

Now make changes to the software and be sure to always include tests! Make sure all tests pass on your machine with:

nosetests

Once tests pass, add any new files you created:

git add my_new_file.py

Now commit your changes:

git commit -am "Added an amazing new feature."

Push your commits to a mirrored branch on the Github repository that you cloned:

git push origin my-branch

Now visit the repository on Github (either yours or the main one) and you should see a "compare and pull button" to make a pull request against the main repository. Github and Travis-CI will check for merge conflicts and run the tests again on a cloud machine. You can ask others to review your code at this point and if all is well, press the "merge" button on the pull request. Finally, delete the branches on your local machine and on your Github repo:

git branch -d my-branch && git push origin :my-branch

Git Notes

  • The master branch on main repository on Github should always pass all tests and we should strive to keep it in a stable state. It is best to not merge contributions into master unless tests are passing, and preferably if someone else approved your code.
  • In general, do not commit changes to your local master branch, always pull in the latest changes from the master branch with git pull upstream master then checkout a new branch for your changes. This way you keep your local master branch up-to-date with the main master branch on Github.
  • In general, do not push changes to the main repo master branch directly, use branches and push the branches up with a pull request.
  • In general, do not commit binary files, files generated from source, or large data files to the repository. See https://help.github.com/articles/working-with-large-files for some reasons.