A pull request is a method of submitting contributions to an open development project. It occurs when a developer asks for changes committed to an external repository to be considered for inclusion in a project's main repository after the peer review.
Here is a basic flow of the pull request process:
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Fork and Clone the Repository: If you're contributing to an open source project on a platform like GitHub, you would first create a fork of the repository you wish to contribute to. A fork is a copy of the repository that resides in your account. Then, you would clone the forked repository to your local system to make changes.
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Create a New Branch: In your local clone of the forked repository, create a new branch. It's best practice to create a new branch for each new feature or bugfix you're working on. This helps keep your changes organized and separated from the main project, and allows you to submit multiple pull requests for different features or fixes.
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Make Changes: Make the changes in the new branch. Be sure to provide meaningful commit messages that clearly explain what each commit does.
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Push Changes: Once you've made your changes and committed them, push the branch with the changes to your forked repository on the remote server (like GitHub).
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Create a Pull Request: On GitHub, navigate to the page of your forked repository and click on "Pull request". Choose the branch you've made your changes in. You'll be able to see your changes and make sure they're correct. Then, submit the pull request. This will send a request to the owner of the original repository to consider your changes.
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Review and Discussion: The maintainers of the main repository will review your changes. They may provide feedback and ask for changes. This is often an iterative process, and you may need to make more commits and push more changes based on the feedback. All of this discussion happens in the pull request's discussion thread.
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Pull Request Approval: Once the maintainers are satisfied with the changes and all discussions have been resolved, they will approve the pull request.
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Merge the Pull Request: After approval, the maintainers of the main repository will merge your changes into the main project. They may use GitHub's interface to do this, or they may do it manually from the command line.
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Delete the Branch: After the pull request has been merged, it's usually safe to delete the branch you made your changes in.
Remember, every project will have their own specific guidelines and process for submitting pull requests, so it's a good idea to read their contribution guidelines before starting.
