# Branching

# Overview

Before You Read

Before you change anything in the vehicle codebase, it is important that you do one thing: branch. I'd recommend that you consult the Git Basics section of the wiki for a git tutorial/refresher if needed.

What branching ensures in our system is compartmentalization of changes across multiple developers. In our vehicle codebase, there is a lot going on, and multiple ROS nodes depend on multiple other nodes in order to function.

Say there is work required on a node called object_detection. Our work with object_avoidance may depend on the earlier version of object_detection. If object_detection is not fully functioning during its retooling, object_avoidance is not going to be developed further until that is done, and we can't have that.

In comes branches. Branches separate changes so that you can't break everyones code by yourself, only yours.

To manage all this, we will be using the Git Feature Branch Workflow.

# Creating Branches

Branching Responsibilities

Feel free to create your own branch by following these instructions, or ask a lead to do it for you

Create a new branch off of dev that describes your software. Should be prepended with "feature-" (i.e., "feature-2d-sign-detector"), and should be named in a similar fashion to the milestone for clarity. You can create a new branch by either:
- 1. On the main project page, next to where it displays the current branch in a dropdown, press the "+" icon, then select "New branch." On the next page, make sure you select dev for "create from"
- 1. With a local checkout of the repository, first make sure you are on a recent version of the dev branch:
```
git checkout dev; git pull
```
  Then create a new branch:
```
git checkout -b feature-your-feature-name-here
```
Immediately create a merge request to merge this feature branch back into dev. Make sure to prepend "WIP:" to the issue title so that it's known that the software is not yet done

# For Active Developers

Checkout Your Branch Run git checkout {feature-branch} on the branch associated with your milestone.
Develop software on your branch. Commit early and often (See Git Basics. Run automated testing pipelines if available.
Once software is ready to merge, remove WIP tag. Notify team lead that software is ready to merge (once automatic testing is enabled, must wait until automatic testing passes).