--- /dev/null
+# Description
+
+This is the Rails port, the [Ruby on Rails](http://rubyonrails.org/)
+application that powers [OpenStreetMap](http://www.openstreetmap.org).
+
+The Rails port provides almost all the services which are available
+on the OpenStreetMap site, including:
+
+* The web site itself, including the edit pages.
+* The editing [API](http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/API_v0.6).
+* Browse pages - a web front-end to the OpenStreetMap data.
+* The user system, including preferences, diary entries, friends and
+ user-to-user messaging.
+* GPX uploads, browsing and API.
+
+There are some non-Rails services which the site includes, for
+example; tiles, geocoding, GPX file loading. There are also some
+utilities which provide other services on the OpenStreetMap site,
+or improve its function, but are not integrated with the Rails
+port, for example; Osmosis, CGImap.
+
+# License
+
+This software is licensed under the [GNU General Public License 2.0](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.txt),
+a copy of which can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+# Running it
+
+You can find documentation on [how to setup and
+run](http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/The_Rails_Port) the software
+on the OpenStreetMap wiki.
+
+# Hacking it
+
+The canonical Git repository for this software is hosted at
+[git.openstreetmap.org](http://git.openstreetmap.org/?p=rails.git),
+but much of the development is done on GitHub and for most people
+[this repository on Github](https://github.com/openstreetmap/openstreetmap-website)
+will be a better place to start.
+
+Anybody hacking on the code is welcome to join the
+[rails-dev](http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/rails-dev) mailing
+list where other people hacking on the code hang out and will be happy
+to help with any problems you may encounter.
+
+There are also weekly IRC meetings, at 1800 GMT on Mondays in #osm-ewg on
+the OFTC network where questions can be asked and ideas discussed. For more
+information, please see [the EWG page]
+(http://www.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Engineering_Working_Group#Meetings). You can
+join the channel using your favourite IRC client or [irc.openstreetmap.org](http://irc.openstreetmap.org/).
+
+## Rails
+
+If you're not already familiar with Ruby on Rails then it's probably
+worth having a look at [Rails Guides](http://guides.rubyonrails.org/) for an introduction.
+
+While working with Rails you will probably find the [API documentation](http://api.rubyonrails.org/)
+helpful as a reference.
+
+## Coding style
+
+When writing code it is generally a good idea to try and match your
+formatting to hat of any existing code in the same file, or to other
+similar files if you are writing new code. Consistency of layout is
+far more important that the layout itself as it makes reading code
+much easier.
+
+One golden rule of formatting -- please don't use tabs in your code
+as they will cause the file to be formatted differently for different
+people depending on how they have their editor configured.
+
+## Testing
+
+Having a good suite of tests is very important to the stability and
+maintainability of any code base. The tests in the Rails port code are
+by no means complete, but they are extensive, and must continue to be
+so with any new functionality which is written. Tests are also useful
+in giving others confidence in the code you've written, and can
+greatly speed up the process of merging in new code.
+
+When hacking, you should:
+
+* Write new tests to cover the new functionality you've added.
+* Where appropriate, modify existing tests to reflect new or changed
+functionality.
+* Never comment out or remove a test just because it doesn't pass.
+
+## Comments
+
+Sometimes it's not apparent from the code itself what it does, or,
+more importantly, **why** it does that. Good comments help your fellow
+developers to read the code and satisfy themselves that it's doing the
+right thing.
+
+When hacking, you should:
+
+* Comment your code - don't go overboard, but explain the bits which
+might be difficult to understand what the code does, why it does it
+and why it should be the way it is.
+* Check existing comments to ensure that they are not misleading.
+
+## Committing
+
+When you submit patches, the project maintainer has to read them and
+understand them. This is difficult enough at the best of times, and
+misunderstanding patches can lead to them being more difficult to
+merge. To help wit this, when submitting you should:
+
+* Split up large patches into smaller units of functionality.
+* Keep your commit messages relevant to the changes in each individual
+unit.
+
+When writing commit messages please try and stick to the same style as
+other commits, namely:
+
+* A one line summary, starting with a capital and with no full stop.
+* A blank line.
+* Full description, as proper sentences with capitals and full stops.
+
+For simple commits the one line summary is often enough and the body
+of the commit message can be left out.
+
+## Sending the patches
+
+If you have forked on GitHub then the best way to submit your patches is to
+push your changes back to GitHub and then send a "pull request" on GitHub.
+
+Otherwise you should either push your changes to a publicly visible git repository
+and send the details to the [rails-dev](http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/rails-dev)
+list or generate patches with `git format-patch` and send them to the
+[rails-dev](http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/rails-dev) list.
+
projects / rails.git / commitdiff