Get Involved

The goal of PPB is to be a learning tool. Building games can be complex, and PPB should make that complexity approachable for new developers. It is also open to developers of all skill levels for contribution and improvement.

This guide will include steps experienced developers may not need explanation for, it’s target audience is new developers not used to contribution.

Before You Begin

Read the README.
Read the Code of Conduct.
- All contributors must abide by the current code of conduct.
- The current code of conduct is the Contributor’s Covenant.
Familiarize yourself with this guide!

I’ve Never Coded Before

ppb doesn’t include tools to get you from a proper zero to running. Check out something like Automate the Boring Stuff or ask a teacher for a resource to learn with.

I Don’t Know How To Start

The best place to start is to build something with ppb! Joining the community of developers who are using it and asking questions is a great place to start. Read the tutorials written by ppb and others, and keep notes: any time you do something that feels rough or seems to be harder than you’d like, take a note!

I Don’t Like How This Works

After you’re comfortable using ppb it’s time to join the discussions. We try to keep discussions public on github, and label any issue meant to be a discussion with the discussion label. Your opinion matters, and you might notice something no one else has. If you don’t like what it’s like to use ppb, talk about it with us, and we can try to find a solution together.

I Found A Bug

Good news: You already know where the issue tracker is, report your bug by adding a new issue to the github page! Your report should focus on the problem: What broke? What didn’t work the way you expected? How did you expect it to work?

In addition to that, we’ll want to know how you got there: A link to your code, any packages you used with ppb, and a stack trace if there is one! Definitely remember to get the python version with python --version.

Label it with the label bug and one of the contributors will get to it soon!

I Have A Suggestion

Same as with bugs, head on over to the issue tracker and write up an issue describing what you want to improve, and how you’d do it.

Remember to consider the goals and principles of ppb. We want to leave enough for people to explore on their own, but solve enough of the hard problems that they’re free to do that.

I Want To Code

Thanks for considering code contributions! The new contributor label is a collection of issues we believe are suitable for people new to PPB. You are welcome to work on any issue you would like, we just think those are a good starting place for those that are unfamiliar with the code base.

Now you need to fork ppb. Once you’ve done that, go through either column and find a ticket you like. Create a branch from the HEAD of the canon branch, add your name to the CONTRIBUTORS file, commit that change and open a PR:

Include “WIP” in the title or make a draft pull request
Reference the issue you want to work on in the body of the PR.

The editable installation mode implies that the source code of PursuedPyBear being installed is available in a local directory. Once PursuedPyBear is installed in editable mode, users expect that changes to the PursuedPyBear python code in the local source tree become effective without the need of a new installation step. To do an editable installation:

mkdir ppb
python3 -m venv ppb-venv
source ppb-venv/bin/activate
cd ppb-venv
git clone https://github.com/ppb/pursuedpybear.git
cd pursuedpybear
pip install --upgrade -r requirements-test.txt
pip install --editable .

Now get to work! Some tickets have detailed instructions: A maintainer mapped out the needs and wrote some instructions. Others are more open. Start working, try to solve the problem. If you get stuck, ask questions in your open PR. The maintainers and active contributors are here to help.

Make sure the PPB tests pass by installing the test dependencies and running the full test suite.

pip install -r requirements-tests.txt
pytest

Once you think it’s ready, time to remove “WIP” from the title or hit the “Ready for review” button. Now someone senior in the project will review. They’ll either ask for changes or approve your PR. If you need to make changes, commit to your branch and push it up and it’ll update the PR. Your reviewer will look again later.

If you got accepted, your PR will make it into the project soon! Only a maintainer can merge your PR, so you’ll need to wait. They may ask for some final changes. Same rules as before: Push new changes to your branch and things will be updated.

Can I Review

You’re always welcome to review other PRs! Just use the comment function unless you’re told you can block PRs. The people doing the “official” review will take your comments into consideration. If you actively provide reviews, you’ll be told to add your name to CONTRIBUTORS as a reviewer!

Can I Contribute Without Code?

There’s so much else that needs to be done besides fixing ppb’s code. We need documentation. Docstrings or the docs folder are available to be added to. Our test suite could use some love. In the end you contribute to ppb by being part of its community.