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WTD ATX June Meetup: Collaborative doc contribution using-- Workshop #2

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Margaret E.
WTD ATX June Meetup: Collaborative doc contribution using-- Workshop #2

Details

On Tuesday, June 18th, we're hosting the second workshop to learn about and practice collaborative doc contribution using GitHub.

This workshop picks up where we left off in May. We'll work in teams again, with an experienced contributor serving as a guide for each team.

If you missed the last workshop, you can catch up by reviewing the comments and links on the May meetup announcement: https://www.meetup.com/WriteTheDocs-ATX-Meetup/events/260602453/

Thanks to Docforce for hosting our summer workshop series!

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Agenda

During the workshop, we’ll cover the following topics as time permits:

• Practice the mechanics of contributing using GitHub's Hello World tutorial (https://guides.github.com/activities/hello-world/)

• Learn the fundamentals of Git version control to contribute to documentation using the GitHub UI and open source contribution guidelines to guide us.

• Learn about using a local development environment to write on your computer and publish changes to GitHub.

• Begin local environment setup ⇒ Install git locally.

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Preparation

Getting familiar with some basic concepts and processes makes it easier to engage and complete tasks during the workshop. You don’t have to become an expert, but it’ll be better to dip your toes in and come prepared with questions and things you want to learn or practice.

Learn Git and GitHub basics

You can begin learning about Git and GitHub using the cornucopia of resources available on the web. Here are a few to explore:

• Anne Gentle's article: Learning the Vocabulary of GitHub for Docs: https://justwriteclick.com/2016/11/12/learning-the-vocabulary-of-github-for-docs/

• Git and GitHub for Writers by Peter Gruenbaum Udemy course: https://www.udemy.com/git-and-github-for-writers/

• Git the Simple Guide: https://rogerdudler.github.io/git-guide/

• Getting Git Right (Atlassian): https://www.atlassian.com/git

• Git book (canonical reference): https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2

Local development environment

"It can be complicated" and "It depends" are good ways to describe local development environments. You don't have to know everything at once. Here are some resources to explore:

• What's a local development environment? https://skillcrush.com/2017/09/25/whats-a-local-development-environment/

• Set up and work locally (Microsoft): https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/contribute/get-started-setup-tools

• Ranking the top 5 code editors (to use when writing and editing your docs): https://www.software.com/review/ranking-the-top-5-code-editors-2019

• Local set up for popular static site generators (Sphinx with Python, Jekyll with Ruby, and Hugo with Go): https://www.docslikecode.com/learn/

Command line

If you use Git and GitHub for docs, understanding how to work from the command line is a fundamental skill that makes learning easier. Here are a few resources to explore:

• How I learned to stop worrying and love the command line:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfM220sNVp8&list=PLZAeFn6dfHpmuHCu5qsIkmp9H5jFD-xq-&index=13

• Conquering the command line: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/conquering-the-command-line-f85f5e46c07c/

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