ICESat2

Scripts for processing and viewing ICESat-2 data

Recipe to contribute

There are two main ways (workflows) to contribute to the repo while avoiding update conflicts.

1) Branch Workflow

• You will work directly with the original repo (on Ben's GitHub).
• Think of branches as folders.
• The stable code is in the master branch.
• You will create a work branch (a copy of master) and modify this.
• When you are done with edits/additions you will merge work with master.
• This will check inconsistencies between branches and let you know it's safe to merge.

1. Clone the original repo to your local machine:

   git clone https://github.com/SmithB/ICESat2.gi://github.com/SmithB/ICESat2.git
   

2. Create a new branch (e.g. yourname) locally where you will edit/add code:

   cd ICESat2
   git checkout -b yourname master
   

3. Push the new branch to the remote repo:

   git push -u origin yourname
   

4. Now you're free to edit/add code. Then save changes locally:

   git add <program.py>
   git commit -am 'Some message'
   

5. Push the changes to the remote repo (to yourname branch):

   git push
   

6. Go to the ICESat2 repo and click New pull request.

7. Select your branch from the 2nd drop-down menu (to merge yourname with master).

8. Click Create pull request. If there are no conflicts, click Merge pull request. If there are conflicts, fix those.

2) Fork Workflow

• You will create a copy of the official repo on your own GitHub account.
• You will edit and make additions to that copy.
• You will create a Pull Request to incorporate your contribution to the official repo.
• Any Collaborator (give your GitHub username to Ben) can review and approve the merge.

1. Go to the ICESat2 repo and click Fork (upper-right corner) to make a copy on your own GitHub account.

2. Clone the forked repo to your local machine:

   git clone https://github.com/<yourname>/ICESat2.git
   

3. Now you're free to edit/add code. Then save changes locally:

   git add <program.py>
   git commit -am 'Some message'
   

4. Push the changes to the remote copy repo (i.e. to your GitHub):

   git push
   

5. Go to the ICESat2 repo and click New pull request to merge your changes with the original repo.

6. Click compare across forks, and select your fork from the 3rd drop-down menu.

7. Click Create pull request. If there are no conflicts, click Merge pull request. If there are conflicts, fix those.

Some tips

If you are really confident that your changes/additions will not break anything, you can skip the branch creation and just do steps (1), (4) and (5):

git clone https://github.com/SmithB/ICESat2.gi://github.com/SmithB/ICESat2.git
cd ICESat2
git add <program.py>
git commit -am 'Some message'
git push

That's it.

To keep your forked repo in sync with the original (upstream) repo, first point to it:

git remote add upstream https://github.com/SmithB/ICESat2.git

then every so often bring your forked repo up-to-date with the original:

git fetch upstream
git checkout master
git merge upstream/master
git push

Before editing/adding code to your local repo (on your machine) make sure it's up-to-date w.r.t. the remote repo (on GitHub), do:

git pull

Rules for a great git commit message:

• Separate subject from body with a blank line
• Do not end the subject line with a period
• Capitalize the subject line and each paragraph
• Use the imperative mood in the subject line
• Wrap lines at 72 characters
• Use the body to explain what and why you have done something (if needed)

Example:

Add code to read specific data file
Update getting started documentation
Replace subsystem X for readability
Remove deprecated methods

Further (easy) reading

• Branch Workflow
• Fork Workflow
• Branch vs Fork workflows
• Working with Forks
• Contributor vs Collaborator
• Writing good commit messages