For those who would like to help in developing the Lab-Assistnat repository, here are some guidelines on how to get started.
The greatest way to help out with the project and learn a little about it yourself is bug testing. If you've never really coded before, this may be a decent place to start. If you believe you have a found bug or have a question, see if someone else has already created an issue in the tab above- if not, go ahead and create an issue.
If the issue is something you think you can contribute to, create a fork of your own and a branch with a name describing the problem. Then create a pull request to the main branch. This will allow you to work on the code without changing the primary files and let the administrators of the project take a look at the code you wish to upload without disturbing the existing workflow.
A good branch name would be (where issue #7 is the ticket you're working on):
Issue #7 - Slow Response times
The issue name for this would be "Slow Response Times"
In order to start testing, download the repository. This can be done via the command:
git clone https://github.com/SPARC-Auburn/Lab-Assistant.git
And work from the development file. Or just download the development branch to one of your directories. If you have a Linux distribution, or if you have Windows, download PyCharm. PyCharm is a great development environment for Linux, Mac, and Windows for the Python programming language.
See the "Running the Assistant" section of the README.md file in this repository to see the full process of getting your first assistant started.
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Ensure the bug was not already reported by searching all issues.
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If you're unable to find an open issue addressing the problem, open a new one. Be sure to include a title and clear description, as much relevant information as possible, and a code sample or an executable test case demonstrating the expected behavior that is not occurring.
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When creating an issue concerning a bug, please include the following information: ** Your operating system ** Your error ** Your process for replicating said error ** Any other information you believe may be relevant
- Currently, the best way to help with development is to look into the Issues tab. This keeps track of the current roadmap for Lab-Assistant, and are the features/fixes/improvements that are intended to be rolled out and worked on.
- Once you have your own fork to work on, take a look at the different issues under Issues.
- If you are looking to get more information on helping or have suggestions, feel free to email us at [email protected]. (Also to be added as a contributor to this repository).
- You can also view the Projects tab to see what is currently being worked on, by whom, and what our goals are for this repository.
If you have a fix or feature you'd like to add, feel free to change it at this point on your own fork! This is your testing environment, so don't worry about breaking it- that helps you learn! If your program becomes irreparable, you can always clone or download it again.
At this point, you should ensure that your branch is up to date with the most current development branch of Lab-Assistant. Doing this will ensure that the feature or fix you have written will work with the current version. Then update your feature branch from your local copy of "development".
Finally, go to GitHub and make a Pull Request!
The retainers of this repository will run your code through a few tests to ensure that it is working correctly and will add it to the online development branch as soon as it's been verified and is beneficial to what is being done, and eventually the master branch.
We really appreciate all your help!