Commit and Pull Request Protocols

Commit Protocol

Version control is the living history of the project. It not only provides backups and a way to share changes, but is a critical component of scientific reproducibility of results by the wider community and helps future developers understand the code. Good commit messages are a essential to ensure the history of the project is useful. Messages should follow the template below, with an emphasis on the why of a set of changes, not just the what. It only take as few seconds to minutes to fill out the template, and can save future developers, including future you, hours to days in understanding the code.

Commit Template

[ 50 character, one line summary ]

[ Description of the changes in this commit. It should be enough
  information for someone not following this development to understand. 
  Lines should be wrapped at about 72 characters. ]

Fixes: [Github issue #]

User interface changes?: [Yes (describe what changes), No]

Checklist:

Code review: [Names]