mirror of
https://github.com/ilyakooo0/urbit.git
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208 lines
7.7 KiB
Markdown
208 lines
7.7 KiB
Markdown
# Contributing to urbit
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Thank you for your interest in contributing to urbit.
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## Development practice
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You may have an identity on the live network, but doing all your
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development on the live network would be cumbersome and unnecessary.
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Standard practice in urbit development is to work on a fake `~zod`. A
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fake `~zod` will get its initial files from the `urb/zod/` directory
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rather than trying to sync them over the network, which is invaluable
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for working in Hoon. Also, a fake `~zod` or any fake urbit instances you
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start do not talk to the live network, but to a fake network that exists
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only on your computer.
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To start a fake `~zod`, the command is:
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bin/urbit -F -I zod -c [pier directory]
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To resume one that was already created, just as on the live network,
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remove `-c` (but leave the rest of the options there). `-F` uses the
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fake network, and `-I` starts an "imperial" instance - that is, an 8-bit
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galaxy.
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## Kernel development
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Working on either C or non-kernel Hoon should not bring any surprises,
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but the Hoon kernel (anything under `urb/zod/arvo/`) is bootstrapped
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from `urbit.pill` in `urb/`, and must be manually recompiled if any
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changes are made. The command to manually recompile the kernel and
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install the new kernel is `|reset` in `dojo`. This rebuilds from the
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`arvo` directory in the `home` desk in `%clay`. Currently, `|reset`
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does not reload apps like `dojo` itself, which will still reference the
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old kernel. To force them to reload, make a trivial edit to their main
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source file (under the `ape` directory) in `%clay`.
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If you do any kernel development, be sure to read the section below about
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pills.
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## Git practice
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Since we use the GitHub issue tracker, it is helpful to contribute via a
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GitHub pull request. If you already know what you are doing, skip down
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to the Style section.
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Start by cloning the repository on your work machine:
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git clone https://github.com/urbit/urbit
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And, additionally, fork the repository on GitHub by clicking the "Fork"
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button. Add your fork as a remote:
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git remote add [username] https://github.com/[username]/urbit
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and set it as the default remote to push to:
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git config --local remote.pushDefault [username]
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This is good practice for any project that uses git. You will pull
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upstream branches from urbit/urbit and push to your personal urbit fork
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by default.
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Next, check out `master`, which is the mainline development branch, and
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base a new branch on it to do your work on:
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git checkout master
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git checkout -b [branch name]
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Now you are free to do your work on this branch. When finished, you may
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want to clean up your commits:
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git rebase -i master
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Then you can push to your public fork with `git push` and make a pull
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request via the GitHub UI.
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After your changes are merged upstream, you can delete your branch (via
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github UI or `git push :[branch]` remotely, and with `git branch -d`
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locally).
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## Style
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The urbit project uses two-space indentation and avoids tab characters.
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In C code, it should not be too difficult to mimic the style of the code
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around you, which is just fairly standard K&R with braces on every
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compound statement. One thing to watch out for is top-level sections in
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source files that are denoted by comments and are actually indented one
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level.
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Hoon will be a less familiar language to many contributors. Some of our
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less obvious stylistic rules are:
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- Keep your source files 80 characters or less wide. Many urbit
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developers use 80 character terminals/tmux panes/&c.
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- Tab characters are actually a syntax error, so be extra sure your
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editor is not inserting any. Trailing whitespace is *usually* not a
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syntax error, but avoiding it is encouraged.
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- The kernel convention is that line comments start at column 57 with
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the `::` followed by 2 spaces. This leaves 20 characters for the
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comment. Outside the kernel, things are less strict.
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- Tall arms within a core are conventionally separated by empty comments
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(just `::`) at the same indentation level as the initial `++` or `+-`.
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The last arm in a core is not followed by an empty comment, because it
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is visually closed by the `--` that closes the core. The empty comment
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is also sometimes omitted in data structure definitions.
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## The kernel and pills
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urbit bootstraps itself using a binary blob called `urbit.pill`, which
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we do indeed keep in version control. This creates some special
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requirements. If you are not changing anything in the kernel (everything
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under `urb/zod/arvo/`) then you can skim this section (please do not
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skip it entirely, though). If you *are* working there, then this
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section is critically important!
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The procedure for creating `urbit.pill` is often called "soliding". It
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is somewhat similar to `|reset`, but instead of replacing your running
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kernel, it writes the compiled kernel to a file. The command to solid
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is, on a fakezod:
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.urbit/pill +solid
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When the compilation finishes, your `urbit.pill` will be found in the
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`[pier]/.urb/put/` directory. Copy it into `urb/` and add it to your
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commit.
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The requirement here is that every commit that changes the kernel must
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come with an `urbit.pill` built from the same code in `urb/zod/arvo/`
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for that commit. (Only changing the actual Hoon code counts, so a change
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to a jet with no corresponding Hoon change does not require a new pill.)
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This is so that checking out an arbitrary revision and starting up a
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fakezod actually works as expected. However you do this is fine, but I
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like to do it as part of my committing process - just before `git
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commit`, I fire up a new fakezod. This will use the previous
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`urbit.pill`, but the kernel code in `%clay` will be copied from
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`urb/zod/arvo/`, so `+solid` will compile it. Then I copy `urbit.pill`
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into `urb/` and make my commit.
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If you rebase or interactive rebase your commits, be sure to preserve
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this property on all the commits you end up with. If multiple people
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were collaborating on your branch, you may end up with conflicts in
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`urbit.pill` and have to merge the branch into itself to resolve them.
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Just do the same procedure to create a new, merged pill before
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committing the merge. Otherwise, just make sure to use the correct
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`urbit.pill` for each commit.
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## Debug urbit with `gdb`
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Follow the build instructions in README.md but run `make` with argument `DEBUG=yes`:
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(If you've already built urbit first run `make clean`.)
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make DEBUG=yes
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Run `gdb`, while loading `bin/urbit` and its symbol table:
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gdb bin/urbit
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Set a breakpoint on `main()` (optional):
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break main
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Run your urbit comet `mycomet`:
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run mycomet
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Continue from the breakpoint on `main()`:
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continue
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## What to work on
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If you are not thinking of contributing with a specific goal in mind,
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the GitHub issue tracker is the first place you should look for ideas.
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Issues are tagged with a priority and a difficulty. A good place to
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start is on either a low-difficulty issue or a low-priority issue.
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Higher priority issues are likely to be assigned to someone - if this is
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the case, then contacting that person to coordinate before starting to
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work is probably a good idea.
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There is also a "help wanted" tag for things that we are especially
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eager to have outside contributions on. Check here first!
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## Staying in touch
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The urbit developers communicate on urbit itself. Joining the
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`~doznec/urbit-meta` channel on `talk` is highly recommended.
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Subscribing to `urbit-dev` on Google Groups is also recommended, since
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this is where continuity breach notifications are sent.
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You can also contact one of the following people:
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- Philip Monk
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email: philip.monk@tlon.io
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urbit: `~wictuc-folrex`
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GitHub: [@philipcmonk](https://github.com/philipcmonk/)
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- Raymond Pasco
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email: ray@the.ug
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urbit: `~ramtev-wisbyt`
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GitHub: [@juped](https://github.com/juped/)
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