FAQ for developers: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 08:01, 27 September 2014

We've started adding questions that we see a lot to this page, but it doesn't cover everything. If you have other questions, the best way to get an answer quickly is to visit us in IRC (Internet Relay Chat). IRC is a large decentralized chat network that predates the World Wide Web. The bulk of the first wave of open source software (read: Linux) was developed using IRC as a communication channel. This continues to be the case today.

If you are new to open source development, IRC works like subscription services such as Campfire and Slack, which are like fancy front ends for IRC. Links to IRC channels and mailing lists are at the bottom of this page.

How do I get the latest source?

Pull the latest from github.

   git pull

Install any updates to gems:

   bundle install

How do I reset the database to a totally clean state?

   rake db:drop db:create db:schema:load

How do I get debug information?

You can use the command

   tail -f log/development.log

to watch the log in development mode.

I have found an issue with federation, how can I debug it?

We actually provide a special configuration for testing server-to-server communication, which produces logs that contain only the events around federation. It involves spinning up two Diaspora* instances which you can use to recreate realistic circumstances and the logs of both sides are recorded into a single file. See Federation Logger

What if my question isn't answered here?

IRC Channels

IRC is the best way to get an answer quickly. Click the link to the join the channel in a new browser window. You can also download and use an IRC client such as Colloquy for OS X, XChat for GNU/Linux or mIRC for Windows.

#diaspora on irc.freenode.net - general discussion and help for folks installing Diaspora
#diaspora-dev on irc.freenode.net - discussion of the source code and help for new developer contributors
#diaspora-de on irc.freenode.net - discussion in German.

Mailing lists

We have two mailing lists, both Google groups. They tend to have a slightly different audience than the IRC channels, so if you can't get your question answered in IRC, you can try here.

Discussion list - Google group for discussion of non-technical topics
Development discussion list - Google group for discussion of installation, source code, and other technical topics

FAQ for web developers

If you're developing an external web site, and would like to know about adding diaspora related features to your site, you might want to look at the FAQ for web developers.

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 We've started adding questions that we see a lot to this page, but it doesn't cover everything.
-If you have other questions, the best way to get an answer quickly is to visit us in IRC.
+If you have other questions, the best way to get an answer quickly is to visit us in IRC (Internet Relay Chat).
-You might think, "IRC? For real? Is this 1994 again?"
+IRC is a large decentralized chat network that predates the World Wide Web. The bulk of the first wave of open source software (read: Linux) was developed using IRC as a communication channel. This continues to be the case today.
-Yes. I mean, '''no!''' Just think of IRC as the open-source equivalent of a Campfire that developers sit around. ''Links to IRC channels and mailing lists are at the bottom of this page.''
+If you are new to open source development, IRC works like subscription services such as Campfire and Slack, which are like fancy front ends for IRC. ''Links to IRC channels and mailing lists are at the bottom of this page.''
 == How do I get the latest source? ==