Contributing.md

Contributing to the Art of Illusion project

So, you would like to contribute to Art of Illusion? Great! Here's how.

Contributing without programing:

There are several things you can do to help that do not require any programing ability.

• Report a bug
• Propose a new feature
• If you speak a language other than English, you can contribute, review, or update a translation
• Create a tutorial
• Help update the website, www.artofillusion.org. We're currently in the middle of re-designing the site. Please see the github project for details.

If you would like to help with any of these, please drop in to the discussion forums.

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Contributing with code:

For complete novices

Please take a few minutes to become familiar with the basics of git and making a pull request on github. Github's documentation team has provided an awesome getting started guide, and a special tour of forking, which you will need to understand to contribute. Don't worry about the advanced stuff yet, we'll help you through it if you need a hand.

Next, follow our instructions for building AOI all the way through to confirm that everything is working for you.

Choosing a project

If you came here with a specific bug or feature in mind, feel free to work on it.

If you are searching for a project, browse through our bug and feature lists. If you are not sure how much experience or time might be required for a specific project, ask on the forums.

How much should I put in a pull request?

Please put the changes related to one bug or feature in each pull request.

• If you change three files to fix one bug, that is one pull request.
• If you change a file to fix a bug and then change the same file to add a new feature, that is two pull requests.
• If you are not sure about the scope of an idea, please ask.

Code Style

A consistent formatting style throughout a codebase helps developers to stay oriented and focused on the content. AOI generally follows the following formating convention:

public class Example
{
  public static String blocks = "Braces should be on the left.";
  public static String blockDetails = "Indent them the same as the enclosing declaration.";
  public static int indentStatementsInsideBlockSpaces = 2;

  public void longParameterLists(boolean areStacked,
                                 String toPrevent,
				 int theLength,
				 String fromRunningInto,
				 int wrappingIssues)
  {
    if (youUseAConditionalWithALongOneLiner)
      System.out.println("Just indent the statement to be executed!");

    for (Object obj: Collection group)
      obj.indent("Also good for operating on the contents of a Collection");
  }
}

This convention can flex if it gets too cumbersome, but should be a good general guideline.

We're looking forward to seeing your pull requests!