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diff --git a/docs/developers/index.md b/docs/developers/index.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..4b90c9232 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/developers/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,84 @@ +--- +layout: page +title: For developers +--- + +# Information for developers + +<p class="lead"> + Alaveteli is an open source project. Full-time mySociety developers together with devs from all around the world actively contribute to the codebase. These notes and links will help you if you want to help too. +</p> + +* The software is written in **Ruby on Rails 3.x**. We support postgresql as + the backend database. A configured mail transfer agent (MTA) like exim, + postfix or sendmail is necessary to parse incoming emails. We have production + sites deployed on Debian Squeeze and Ubuntu (10.04 LTS). For performance + reasons, we recommend the use of [Varnish](https://www.varnish-cache.org). + +* To help you understand what the code is doing, read this [high-level + overview]({{ site.baseurl }}docs/developers/overview), which includes a diagram of + the models and how they are related. + +* See the [API documentation]({{ site.baseurl }}docs/developers/api) for how to get + data into or out of Alaveteli. + +* If you need to change or add strings in the interface, see our [guidelines + for internationalisation](http://mysociety.github.io/internationalization.html + ), which include notes about our use of `gettext`. + +* We use the [git flow branching + model](http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/), with a small + change: currently our `develop` branch is called `rails-3-develop`, which + means that the latest development version is always found on the + [rails-3-develop + branch](https://github.com/mysociety/alaveteli/tree/rails-3-develop). The + latest stable version is always on the [master + branch](https://github.com/mysociety/alaveteli). If you plan to collaborate + on the software, you may find the [git flow + extensions](https://github.com/nvie/gitflow) useful. + +* Installing the software is a little involved, though it's getting easier. If + you stick to Debian or Ubuntu, it should be possible to get a running version + within a few hours. If you've got your own server, run the + [installation script]({{ site.baseurl }}docs/installing/script/), or follow the + instructions for a + [manual installation]({{ site.baseurl }}docs/installing/manual_install/). + Alternatively, there's an [Alaveteli EC2 AMI]({{ site.baseurl }}docs/installing/ami/) + that might help you get up and running quickly. + [Get in touch](http://www.alaveteli.org/contact/) on the project mailing list or IRC + for help. + +* A standard initial step for customising your deployment is [writing a + theme]({{ site.baseurl }}docs/customising/themes). **If you only read one thing, + it should be this!** + +* Like many Ruby on Rails sites, the software is not hugely performant (see + some notes about [[performance issues]] gathered over time with + WhatDoTheyKnow). The site will run on a server with 512MB RAM but at least + 2GB is recommended. Deployment behind [Varnish](https://www.varnish-cache.org) is also fairly essential. See + [[Production Server Best Practices]] for more. + +* There's a number of [proposals for enhancements](https://github.com/mysociety/alaveteli/wiki/Proposals-for-enhancements), + such as more user-focused features, but see also... + +* ...the [github issues](https://github.com/mysociety/alaveteli/issues). We + mark issues with the label **suitable for volunteers** if we think they are + especially suitable for diving into if you're just looking for something + relatively small to get your teeth into. + +* We try to ensure every commit has a corresponding issue in the issue tracker. + This makes changelogs easier as we can gather all the fixes for a particular + release against a milestone in the issue tracker, [like this 0.4 + release](https://github.com/mysociety/alaveteli/issues?milestone=7&state=close + d). + +* If you're experiencing memory issues, [this blog post about some strategies + used in the + past](http://www.mysociety.org/2009/09/17/whatdotheyknow-growing-pains-and-rub + y-memory-leaks/) might be useful. + +* If you're coding on a mac, see these [MacOS X installation notes]({{ site.baseurl }}docs/installing/macos). <!-- [[OS X Quickstart]] --> + +* We try to adhere to similar good practice across all our projects: see + [mysociety.github.io](http://mysociety.github.io/) for things like our + [coding standards](http://mysociety.github.io/coding-standards.html) |