11 So you want to hack on GNU MediaGoblin?
12 =======================================
14 First thing to do is check out the `Web site
15 <http://mediagoblin.org/join/>`_ where we list all the project
16 infrastructure including:
22 Additionally, we have information on how to get involved, who to talk
23 to, what needs to be worked on, and other things besides!
25 Second thing to do is take a look at :ref:`codebase-chapter` where
26 we've started documenting how GNU MediaGoblin is built and how to add
29 Third you'll need to :ref:`get the requirements
30 <get-requirements-section>`.
32 Fourth, you'll need to build a development environment. We use buildout,
33 but if you want to use virtualenv, there's a set of mediocre not-very-supported
34 steps in the `wiki <https://gitorious.org/mediagoblin/pages/Home>`_.
37 .. _get-requirements-section:
42 First, you need to have the following installed before you can build
43 an environment for hacking on GNU MediaGoblin:
45 * Python 2.6 or 2.7 - http://www.python.org/
47 You'll need Python as well as the dev files for building modules.
49 * python-lxml - http://lxml.de/
50 * git - http://git-scm.com/
51 * MongoDB - http://www.mongodb.org/
53 If you're running Debian GNU/Linux or a Debian-derived distribution
54 such as Mint or Ubuntu, running the following should install these
57 sudo apt-get install mongodb git-core python python-dev \
62 If you have instructions for other GNU/Linux distributions to set
63 up requirements, let us know!
66 .. _hacking-with-buildout:
69 How to set up and maintain an environment for hacking with buildout
70 ===================================================================
74 No additional requirements.
77 **Create a development environment**
79 After installing the requirements, follow these steps:
81 1. Clone the repository::
83 git clone http://git.gitorious.org/mediagoblin/mediagoblin.git
85 2. Bootstrap and run buildout::
88 python bootstrap.py && ./bin/buildout
91 That's it! Using this method, buildout should create a ``user_dev``
92 directory, in which certain things will be stored (media, beaker
93 session stuff, etc). You can change this, but for development
94 purposes this default should be fine.
97 **Updating for dependency changes**
99 While hacking on GNU MediaGoblin over time, you'll eventually have to
100 update your development environment because the dependencies have
101 changed. To do that, run::
103 ./bin/buildout && ./bin/gmg migrate
106 **Updating for code changes**
108 You don't need to do anything---code changes are automatically
112 **Deleting your buildout**
114 At some point, you may want to delete your buildout. Perhaps it's to
115 start over. Perhaps it's to test building development environments
120 rm -rf bin develop-eggs eggs mediagoblin.egg-info parts user_dev
126 If you want to get things running quickly and without hassle, just
131 This will start up a python server where you can begin playing with
132 mediagoblin. It will also run celery in "always eager" mode so you
133 don't have to start a separate process for it.
135 This is fine in development, but if you want to actually run celery
136 separately for testing (or deployment purposes), you'll want to run
137 the server independently::
139 ./bin/paster serve paste.ini --reload
145 If you aren't using ./lazyserver.sh or otherwise aren't running celery
146 in always eager mode, you'll need to do this if you want your media to
147 process and actually show up. It's probably a good idea in
148 development to have the web server (above) running in one terminal and
149 celeryd in another window.
153 CELERY_CONFIG_MODULE=mediagoblin.celery_setup.from_celery ./bin/celeryd
156 Running the test suite
157 ======================
167 If you want a shell with your database pre-setup and an instantiated
168 application ready and at your fingertips....
178 pymongo.errors.AutoReconnect: could not find master/primary
179 -----------------------------------------------------------
183 pymongo.errors.AutoReconnect: could not find master/primary
185 then make sure mongodb is installed and running.
187 If it's installed, check the mongodb log. On my machine, that's
188 ``/var/log/mongodb/mongodb.log``. If you see something like::
190 old lock file: /var/lib/mongodb/mongod.lock. probably means...
192 Then delete the lock file and relaunch mongodb.
195 Wiping your user data
196 =====================
200 Unless you're doing development and working on and testing creating
201 a new instance, you will probably never have to do this. Will
202 plans to do this work and thus he documented it.
206 If you're familiar with MongoDB, we'd love to get a `script that
207 removes all the GNU MediaGoblin data from an existing instance
208 <http://bugs.foocorp.net/issues/296>`_. Let us know!
211 Quickstart for Django programmers
212 =================================
214 We're not using Django, but the codebase is very Django-like in its
217 * ``routing.py`` is like ``urls.py`` in Django
218 * ``models.py`` has mongokit ORM definitions
219 * ``views.py`` is where the views go
221 We're using MongoDB. Basically, instead of a relational database with
222 tables, you have a big JSON structure which acts a lot like a Python
228 If there are other things that you think would help orient someone
229 new to GNU MediaGoblin but coming from Django, let us know!
232 Bite-sized bugs to start with
233 =============================
235 **May 3rd, 2011**: We don't have a list of bite-sized bugs, yet, but
236 this is important to us. If you're interested in things to work on,
237 let us know on `the mailing list <http://mediagoblin.org/join/>`_ or
238 on the `IRC channel <http://mediagoblin.org/join/>`_.
241 Tips for people new to coding
242 =============================
247 GNU MediaGoblin is written using a programming language called `Python
248 <http://python.org/>`_.
250 There are two different incompatible iterations of Python which I'll
251 refer to as Python 2 and Python 3. GNU MediaGoblin is written in
252 Python 2 and requires Python 2.6 or 2.7. At some point, we might
253 switch to Python 3, but that's a future thing.
255 You can learn how to code in Python 2 from several excellent books
256 that are freely available on the Internet:
258 * `Learn Python the Hard Way <http://learnpythonthehardway.org/>`_
259 * `Dive Into Pyton <http://diveintopython.org/>`_
260 * `Python for Software Design <http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkpython/>`_
261 * `A Byte of Python <http://www.swaroopch.com/notes/Python>`_
263 These are all excellent texts.
267 If you know of other good quality Python tutorials and Python
268 tutorial videos, let us know!
271 Learning Libraries GNU MediaGoblin uses
272 ---------------------------------------
274 GNU MediaGoblin uses a variety of libraries in order to do what it
275 does. These libraries are listed in the :ref:`codebase-chapter`
276 along with links to the project Web sites and documentation for the
279 There are a variety of Python-related conferences every year that have
280 sessions covering many aspects of these libraries. You can find them
281 at `Python Miro Community <http://python.mirocommunity.org>`_ [0]_.
283 .. [0] This is a shameless plug. Will Kahn-Greene runs Python Miro
286 If you have questions or need help, find us on the mailing list and on
290 .. _hacking-howto-git:
295 git is an interesting and very powerful tool. Like all powerful
296 tools, it has a learning curve.
298 If you're new to git, we highly recommend the following resources for
299 getting the hang of it:
301 * `Learn Git <http://learn.github.com/p/intro.html>`_ --- the GitHub
303 * `Pro Git <http://progit.org/book/>`_ --- fantastic book
304 * `Git casts <http://gitcasts.com/>`_ --- screencast covering git
306 * `Git Reference <http://gitref.org/>`_ --- Git reference that makes
307 it easier to get the hang of git if you're coming from other version
310 There's also a git mission at `OpenHatch <http://openhatch.org/>`_.
313 Learning other utilities
314 ------------------------
316 The `OpenHatch <http://openhatch.org/>`_ site has a series of
317 `training missions <http://openhatch.org/missions/>`_ which are
318 designed to help you learn how to use these tools.
320 If you're new to tar, diff, patch and git, we highly recommend you sign
321 up with OpenHatch and do the missions.