Contribute

How to Contribute to the Wiki

Editing existing pages

To begin editing an existing wiki page select the hover over the icons to the right of this page, and select "Edit this page". If you do not have permissions to edit, click register in the top right corner of the window.

In the edit window, you have access to standard Word style formatting, which means no wiki syntax required! (Although it supports it if you want to get fancy with the formatting) The wiki also supports HTML embedding, so feel free to customize the page with your own styling.

Making new pages

A wiki page is simply a web address. So to make a new page, you must create a link to a page that doesn't exist yet. The wiki takes care of actually creating the page. Links are declared with "double brackets", and anything enclosed will become a new wiki page. Adding brackets to anything will create a link: <nowiki>[dummy page](dummy page)</nowiki> -> [dummy page](dummy page).

Be aware that once you create a page and save some content, that page will now exist regardless of whether there is a link to it or not. So if all links to a page are deleted, it will be difficult to find that page again.

Where to start?

Find your project in the sidebar to the left and create its page. If your project is not listed, add it to the sidebar.

What should I add?

• Project Template

  • An example Project_Template can be found here.

• Project Information

  • The goal here is to make your project and all your work easily accessible. Someone new to the lab might want to work on a component to your device. So rather than crawling through GitHub code or reading an outdated project page, you can direct them to the wiki. Maybe they haven't programmed with Arduino before, or don't understand Git/GitHub? (See the next bullet point)

• How-To's and Getting Started

  • The hardest part of any project is usually the very beginning. Your projects should be designed for easy collaboration, and the best way to encourage that is with clear instructions on how to use your device or code. A great example is Adafruit tutorials. You have probably viewed this page at least once in your time with OPEnS lab; imagine if the only way to learn how to use a Feather M0 device was to just plug it in and start guessing.
  • Obviously your project doesn't have the scope or size of a company like Adafruit, but that means writing easy to follow documentation is a whole lot easier!

• Milestones and Goals

  • This can be useful for yourself as well as others. It can be easy to lose sight of the bigger picture when your neck-deep in code. Sometimes a simple reminder of what your "thing" is supposed to "do" can save you hours of work. This is also useful for people who are new to a project or coming into it after a hiatus.

• Whatever you want!

  • This platform is for you to publicly document any aspect of your project's development. Use it in whichever way suits your needs.