Docs: Create CONTRIBUTING.md file

[frozenfrank]

Overview

GitHub specially treats the CONTRIBUTING.md file. We should leverage this behavior to help future people contribute to the project.

Details to Include

Important notes to include:

• In this project, we approve typically PRs and allow the original submitter to press the merge button.
• New features and functionality must have tests demonstrating correctness.
• New contributors can begin by writing new tests for existing functionality to become acquainted with the code
• New contributors should start by reviewing our Sequence Diagrams (coming soon!)
• Potentially move (or link or extract) the getting started information into a separate document
  • Should this be a separate issue?
• Established conventions to naming issues
• Using the established Project
• Define a style guide
  • Small packages
  • SOLID principles
  • Standard naming conventions

Other Examples

• cezaraugusto
• See the GitHub community checklist for more information.

Places to Update

• [ ] Getting started guide (comment)

Other Ideas

What other things should we include in the document?

[webecke]

You mention that new features should have tests. Do we run our test cases currently before deployment? If not, can we set a GitHub action that runs all the test cases before you're allowed to merge a pull request, in the same way we check it compiles and has valid type-checking? @frozenfrank @19mdavenport

[frozenfrank]

You mention that new features should have tests. Do we run our test cases currently before deployment? If not, can we set a GitHub action that runs all the test cases before you're allowed to merge a pull request, in the same way we check it compiles and has valid type-checking? @frozenfrank @19mdavenport

Yes!

Current Setup

We already have a GitHub Actions workflow that runs on every push (on every branch) and reports whether all the test pass or not. This currently runs two checks:

• Do all of the tests pass?
• Does the Vue Linter report any issues?

We also have another action set up that runs only when code is pushed to the main branch which runs the Integration tests. Based on the most recent commit message in that folder, it appears that the CanvasIntegrationTest has been disabled recently...

The point is that we do have the infrastructure in place to evaluate tests and ensure we have high-quality code!

Where can you find it?

You may have noticed the green checkmarks— or red Xs— indicating the status of these "Actions" (screenshots). Notice that these marks are replaced with a yellow dot while the checks are currently running.

1. When a PR is merged

2. Attached to any commit that was the head of the branch when a branch was pushed

3. In the browser tab favicon image

4. On the PR page

5. And surely in many other places!

Usefulness Example

In #423, I pushed my code and requested a review on the PR. However, I then received an email that I had failed the tests! I was able to look and find where I had made the mistake in the code in order to correct it. This history is all presented and displayed within the Pull Request page: