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| 1 | +# Contributing to Emboss |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +If you would like to fix a bug or add a new feature to Emboss, great! This |
| 4 | +document is intended to help you understand the procedure, so that your change |
| 5 | +can land in the main Emboss repository. |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +You do not have to take a change all the way from start to finish, either: if |
| 8 | +you can get a design approved, then someone else can implement it much more |
| 9 | +easily. Conversely, if you are looking for a way to help, you might look for |
| 10 | +existing [feature |
| 11 | +requests](https://github.com/google/emboss/labels/enhancement) that have |
| 12 | +designs or at [open design sketches](design_docs/) that you might be able to |
| 13 | +implement. |
| 14 | + |
| 15 | + |
| 16 | +## All Changes |
| 17 | + |
| 18 | +Because Emboss is a Google project, in order to submit code you will need to |
| 19 | +sign a [Google Contributor License Agreement |
| 20 | +(CLA)](https://cla.developers.google.com/). |
| 21 | + |
| 22 | +**IMPORTANT**: if your contribution includes code that is not covered by a |
| 23 | +Google CLA and is not owned by Google, the Emboss project has to follow special |
| 24 | +procedures to include it. Please let us know ([filing an issue on |
| 25 | +GitHub](https://github.com/google/emboss/issues/new) is probably the easiest |
| 26 | +way) so that we can walk you through the process. In particular, we generally |
| 27 | +cannot accept any code from StackExchange or similar sites, and any code that |
| 28 | +comes from a non-Google open source project needs to have an acceptable license |
| 29 | +and be committed to the Emboss repository in a specific location. |
| 30 | + |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +### How-To Guides |
| 33 | + |
| 34 | +This document covers the process of getting a change into the main Emboss |
| 35 | +repository — i.e., what you need to do to get your change into |
| 36 | +[the main Emboss repository](https://github.com/google/emboss/). |
| 37 | + |
| 38 | +[How to Implement Changes to Emboss](how-to-implement.md) has an overview of |
| 39 | +how to make code changes to Emboss. |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +[How to Design Features for Emboss](how-to-design.md) has an overview of what |
| 42 | +to think about during your design. |
| 43 | + |
| 44 | + |
| 45 | +### Bug Fixes vs New Features |
| 46 | + |
| 47 | +The general process for bug fixes and new features is the same, but bug fixes |
| 48 | +usually require less design work, and therefore can go through lighter |
| 49 | +processes. |
| 50 | + |
| 51 | + |
| 52 | +## Very Small Changes |
| 53 | + |
| 54 | +If you have a tiny change — for example, making a fix that does not change the |
| 55 | +design of `embossc` — you can jump directly into coding. |
| 56 | + |
| 57 | +This process works best if your change is small and not likely to be |
| 58 | +controversial, or if you have already completed [the steps for small |
| 59 | +changes](#small-changes). |
| 60 | + |
| 61 | +1. [Code up your proposed change](how-to-implement.md) and open a [pull |
| 62 | + request |
| 63 | + (PR)](https://docs.github.com/en/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/proposing-changes-to-your-work-with-pull-requests/creating-a-pull-request) |
| 64 | + to [the main Emboss repository](https://github.com/google/emboss/). If you |
| 65 | + have not completed [the steps for small changes](#small-changes), this |
| 66 | + gives the Emboss maintainers something more concrete to look at, but you |
| 67 | + may end up doing more work if your initial proposal turns out to be the |
| 68 | + wrong approach. |
| 69 | + |
| 70 | +2. The Emboss maintainers will review your PR, and may request changes. Don't |
| 71 | + be discouraged if your PR is not immediately accepted — even PRs that |
| 72 | + maintainers send to each other often have requests for changes! We want |
| 73 | + the Emboss code to be high-quality, which means helping you make your code |
| 74 | + better. |
| 75 | + |
| 76 | +3. Once your PR reaches a point where it is good enough, an Emboss maintainer |
| 77 | + will merge it into the Emboss repository. |
| 78 | + |
| 79 | + |
| 80 | +## Small Changes |
| 81 | + |
| 82 | +If your change is small, but still requires some design work — for example, |
| 83 | +adding a new utility function in the C++ runtime library, or making a bug fix |
| 84 | +that involves re-structuring some of the `embossc` code — it is usually best to |
| 85 | +get some feedback before you start coding. |
| 86 | + |
| 87 | +1. [File an issue on GitHub](https://github.com/google/emboss/issues/new), if |
| 88 | + there is not an issue already. It is best to use the *problem you want to |
| 89 | + solve* for the issue title and description, and then propose your design in |
| 90 | + a comment. |
| 91 | + |
| 92 | +2. Once the Emboss maintainers have had a chance to review your proposal and |
| 93 | + agree on the general outline, follow [the procedure for very small |
| 94 | + changes](#very-small-changes). |
| 95 | + |
| 96 | + |
| 97 | +## Medium and Large Changes |
| 98 | + |
| 99 | +If you have a medium or large change — for example, introducing a new pass in |
| 100 | +`embossc`, adding a new data type, adding a new operator to the Emboss |
| 101 | +expression language, making a cross-cutting refactoring of `embossc`, etc. — |
| 102 | +then you should start by writing a *design sketch*. |
| 103 | + |
| 104 | +A design sketch is, basically, an informal design doc — it covers the topics |
| 105 | +that a design doc would cover, but may have open questions or alternatives that |
| 106 | +haven't been locked down. |
| 107 | + |
| 108 | +1. [File an issue on GitHub](https://github.com/google/emboss/issues/new), if |
| 109 | + there is not an issue already. It is best to use the *problem you want to |
| 110 | + solve* for the issue title and description. |
| 111 | + |
| 112 | +2. Look at [existing design sketches](design_docs/) and [archived design docs |
| 113 | + for changes that have already landed](design_docs/archive/) to get a feel |
| 114 | + for what should be in a design sketch. |
| 115 | + |
| 116 | +3. If you have not already done so, read [How to Design Features for |
| 117 | + Emboss](how-to-design.md). |
| 118 | + |
| 119 | +4. Write a draft design sketch for your change, and open a pull request |
| 120 | + against [the main Emboss repository](https://github.com/google/emboss/). |
| 121 | + |
| 122 | +5. It is very likely that your design sketch will need revision before it is |
| 123 | + accepted. If it does, do not be discouraged — we want your change to |
| 124 | + succeed! |
| 125 | + |
| 126 | +6. Once your design sketch has been accepted, you can move on to |
| 127 | + implementation, following (more or less) the same procedure you would |
| 128 | + follow for [small](#small-changes) or [very small |
| 129 | + changes](#very-small-changes). Depending on the complexity of the change, |
| 130 | + you may need to split your implementation into multiple changes. |
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