Documents a basic overview of how we develop iota.

Working in Git

Install Git Tools

You use git to make changes to the iota code, tests, documentation, and web site:

Git Cheat Sheet

For future reference, the git commands used below are summarized in Git Cheatsheet in the How-To chapter.

Download iota Source Tree

You download the iota source tree once the git tools have been installed.

Fork iota Repository

You create a private fork of iota on https://github.com/apache/incubator-iota. Use the fork button top-right on the page to create your fork, which will be named <your-git-id>_fork.

 

The following examples use iotadeveloper to represent <your-git-id>.

Clone iota Repository

Use the git shell to perform this task.

Clone iota Repository
# Move to the directory where you want to install the iota source code.
cd mysource

# Clone the iota source code
git clone git://git.apache.org/incubator-iota.git

# Change to the iota source-tree directory
cd incubator-iota
 
# Register your fork as a remote branch
git remote add iotadeveloper_fork git@github.com:iotadeveloper/incubator-iota

At this point, you’ve finished all preparation steps. Now, you can start making changes.

Make Changes

Create Task Branch

You create a task branch to make changes to the iota source tree. Typically, we name the branches after the Jira we are working on. In this example, the Jira is: iota-42.

Create Task Branch
# Ensure that you have the latest changes
git fetch --all

# Checkout source
git checkout -b iota-42 origin/master   # or origin/releaseX.Y for a release patch

Change Recipes

How to make changes depends on what part of the source tree you are working on. Please refer to the following chapters:

Change TypeRefer To...
CodeModify Code
QA TestsModify Tests
DocumentationModify Documentation
Web SiteModify Web Site

Commit Changes 

Run Regression Tests

If you’re making code changes, then ensure that you run the Regression Tests before committing changes.

Perform the following steps to commit your changes. 

Commit Changes
# Commit changes
git commit -a

# Dry-run check against main branch
git push -n iotadeveloper_fork HEAD

# Push changes to your private fork
git push iotadeveloper_fork iota-42

Create Pull Request

Your changes need to be reviewed by a iota committer. Therefore, you need to create a pull request for your private repository.

The iota Automated Tests are triggered to run on every pull request. These tests take 1-2 hours to run. Shorter tests run if you've changed only documentation or the web site. Please refer to Automated Tests for information about how to check the outcome of these tests.

Using GitHub Web Site (Preferred)

Do the following: 

  1.  Go to https://github.com/apache/incubator-iota. 
  2. Click the green Create Pull Request button. 
  3. Review changes one more time before clicking Create Pull Request.

 

Please refer to https://help.github.com/articles/creating-a-pull-request/ for more documentation.

Using Git Command Line (with Hub extension) 

Do the following:

Git Bash Pull Request
# Generate pull request
git pull-request

Ensure that you include the Jira ID at the beginning of the title in your pull request. For example: [iota-42] Explanation of the changes you made.

Review Comments

The pull request gets reviewed by the committers and other contributors. Once you get a consensus, the committer merges your changes into the target incubator-iota branch. Check your e-mail for comments.

Address Review Comments

Follow the GitHub conversation on your pull request (you should be automatically subscribed). Respond to questions and issues.

 If you need to make additional changes, then do the following (the example below uses a sample Jira ID):

  1. Check out the code: git checkout iota-42
  2. Make the requested changes.
  3. Run regression tests, if applicable.
  4. Commit the changes with appropriate change information: git commit -a
  5. Push the changes back to your private git fork: git push iotadeveloper_fork iota-42

The push command automatically adds the change to the active pull request.

Do not use the git commit --amend or git rebase command after pushing a commit.

Resolve Merge Conflicts

Sometimes someone else's changes reach the target branch (e.g., master) before yours and has a merge conflict with your changes. Github will flag that situation in the status of your pull request. Before your changes can be merged, you must resolve conflicts in your pull request. This is the same process as above, making code changes, except that a merge command is done to create the changes.

Using the prior example:

  1. Check out the code: git checkout iota-42
  2. git fetch origin
  3. git merge origin/master
  4. Resolve conflicts.
  5. Run regression tests, if applicable.
  6. Commit the changes with appropriate change information: git commit -a
  7. Push the changes back to your private git fork: git push iotadeveloper_fork iota-42

Change Merge

If all is well, a committer will merge your change into the Apache repository, which is mirrored on GitHub. You may be asked to close out the JIRA or other follow up.

Your change is done. Thanks for your contribution to iota.

Where To Go From Here

You should have a basic understanding of how iota is developed at this point. Where you go next depends on what areas you intend to contribute to:

This step is not necessary if you just want to build a iota binary or if you working on the Documentation and/or Web Site.

  • Modify Documentation: You can modify the iota documentation without creating the iota Build Environment or iota Test Environment. Typically, contributors working on the iota code also modify the iota Documentation when making changes.

  • Modify Web Site: You can modify the iota web site without creating the iota Build Environment or iota Test Environment.

 

 

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