# Contributing to the MarkLogic Node.js Client API

The MarkLogic Node.js Client API welcomes new contributors. This document will guide you
through the process.

 - [Question or Problem?](#question)
 - [Issues and Bugs](#issue)
 - [Feature Requests](#feature)
 - [Submission Guidelines](#submit)

## <a name="question"></a> Have a Question or Problem?

If you have questions about how to use the Node.js Client API, you can ask on
[StackOverflow](http://stackoverflow.com/tags/marklogic), tagging the question
with MarkLogic.

## <a name="issue"></a> Found an Issue?
If you find a bug in the source code or a mistake in the documentation, you can help us by
submitting an issue to our [GitHub Issue Tracker](https://github.com/marklogic/node-client-api/issues). Even better
you can submit a Pull Request with a fix for the issue you filed.

## <a name="feature"></a> Want a Feature?
You can request a new feature by submitting an issue to our [GitHub Issue Tracker](https://github.com/marklogic/node-client-api/issues).  If you would like to implement a new feature, first create a new issue and discuss it with one of our project
maintainers.

## <a name="submit"></a> Submission Guidelines

### Submitting an Issue
If your issue appears to be a bug, and hasn’t been reported, open a new issue.
Providing the following information will increase the chances of your issue being dealt with quickly:

* **Overview of the Issue** - If an error is being thrown a stack trace helps
* **Motivation for or Use Case** - Explain why this is a bug for you
* **Environment** - Which [version of MarkLogic](https://docs.marklogic.com/xdmp.version)? Which version of the Node.js Client API? Mac, Windows, Linux?  Details help.
* **Suggest a Fix** - if you can't fix the bug yourself, perhaps you can point
to what might be causing the problem (line of code or commit)

### Submitting a Pull Request

A pull request is the standard way to submit changes to a repository to which you don’t have commit privileges. GitHub provides a nice UI for viewing, discussing, and merging pull requests.

#### Fill in the CLA

Before we can accept your pull request, you need to sign a [Contributor License Agreement](http://developer.marklogic.com/products/cla).

#### Fork the Node.js Client API

Fork the project [on GitHub](https://github.com/marklogic/node-client-api/fork)
and clone your copy.

    $ git clone git@github.com:username/node-client-api.git
    $ cd node-client-api
    $ git remote add upstream git://github.com/marklogic/node-client-api.git

All bug fixes and new features go into the `develop` branch.

We ask that you open an issue in the [issue tracker](https://github.com/marklogic/node-client-api/issues) and get agreement from at least one of the project maintainers before you start coding.

Nothing is more frustrating than seeing your hard work go to waste because your vision does not align with that of a project maintainer.

#### Create a branch for your changes

Okay, so you have decided to fix something. Create a feature branch and start hacking:

    $ git checkout -b issue/123 -t origin/dev

In this case, the branch name, `issue/123`, references the fact that your changes address the issue (#123) that you just filed. Replace the `123` with your issue number. This naming convention is not required, but is generally helpful in navigating your branches.

#### Commit your changes

Make sure git knows your name and email address:

    $ git config --global user.name "J. Random User"
    $ git config --global user.email "j.random.user@example.com"

Writing good commit logs is important. A commit log should describe what changed and why. Follow these guidelines when writing one:

1. The first line should be 50 characters or less and contain a short description of the change including the Issue number prefixed by a hash (`#`).
2. Keep the second line blank.
3. Wrap all other lines at 72 columns.

A good commit log looks like this:

```
Fixes #123: Makes the whatchamajigger work in MarkLogic 8

Body of commit message is a few lines of text, explaining things
in more detail, possibly giving some background about the issue
being fixed, etc etc.

The body of the commit message can be several paragraphs, and
please do proper word-wrap and keep columns shorter than about
72 characters or so. That way `git log` will show things
nicely even when it is indented.
```

The header line should be meaningful; it is what other people see when they
run `git shortlog` or `git log --oneline`.

#### Rebase your repo

Use `git rebase` (not `git merge`) to sync your work from time to time to make sure you don’t stray too far from the active development work.

    $ git fetch upstream
    $ git rebase upstream/develop

#### Test your code

Be sure to run the tests before submitting your pull request. PRs with failing tests won’t be accepted.

    $ node etc/test-setup.js
    $ mocha test-basic
    $ node etc/test-teardown.js

#### Push your changes

    $ git push origin issue/123

#### Submit the pull request

Go to your fork (i.e. https://github.com/username/node-client-api) and select your feature branch. Click the “Pull Request” button and fill out the form.

Pull requests are usually reviewed within a few days. If you get comments that need to be to addressed, apply your changes in a separate commit and push that to your feature branch. Post a comment in the pull request afterwards; GitHub does not send out notifications when you add commits to existing pull requests.

That’s it. Thanks in advance for your contribution.


#### After your pull request is merged

After your pull request is merged, you can safely delete your branch and pull
the changes from the main (upstream) repository:

* Delete the remote branch on GitHub either through the GitHub web UI or your
local shell as follows:

    $ git push origin --delete issue/123

* Check out the dev branch:

    $ git checkout develop -f

* Delete the local branch:

    $ git branch -D issue/123

* Update your dev with the latest upstream version:

    $ git pull --ff upstream develop
