MATLAB.devTools - Contribute the smart way

MATLAB R2018b	MATLAB R2017b	Code Coverage	Code Grade

All repositories on Github are version controlled using git, a free and open-source distributed, version control system, which tracks changes in computer files and is used for coordinating work on those files by multiple people.

In order to lower the technological barrier to the use of the popular software development tool git, we have developed MATLAB.devTools, a new user-friendly software extension that enables submission of new COBRA software and tutorials, in particular for The COBRA Toolbox and the COBRA.tutorials.

The MATLAB.devTools are highly recommended for contributing code (in particular MATLAB code) to existing repositories in a user-friendly and convenient way, even for those without basic knowledge of git.

Pre-requisites

Please follow the configuration instructions carefully. You may skip this if your system is already set up and you have git configured.

IMPORTANT: Please make sure that you have configured your SSH key in Github as explained here.

Installation

Download this repository (the folder ./MATLAB.devTools/ will be created). You can clone the repository using:

$ git clone git@github.com:opencobra/MATLAB.devTools.git MATLAB.devTools

Run this command in Terminal (on and ) or in Git Bash (on ) - not in .

Some issues that can arise during installation are addressed in the FAQ.

How contribute to The COBRA Toolbox?

1. Create a github account, with these instructions.

2. Create your own fork of the COBRA Toolbox by navigating to https://github.com/opencobra/cobratoolbox <https://github.com/opencobra/cobratoolbox> then in the top-right corner of the page, click Fork__.

3. Create a local clone of your fork using the commands $ cd yourCodeDirectory Replace yourCodeDirectory with your directory of choice, but is important not to place it in a folder that is automatically synced with some cloud drive.

$ git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/cobratoolbox.git fork-cobratoolbox It is important to clone into a folder named fork-cobratoolbox because that is how MATLAB.devTools recognises your local clone of your COBRA Toolbox fork.

4. Proceed with the steps below on How do I use the MATLAB.devTools, except start with the following MATLAB command:

>> contribute('opencobra/cobratoolbox')

More information about creating your own fork is avaialable here.

More information about the COBRA Toolbox is available `here.

How do I use MATLAB.devTools?

Making a contribution to any git repository from is straightforward. Type in within the MATLAB.devTools folder:

>> contribute

You will then be presented by a menu:

   [1] Start a new branch.
   [2] Select an existing branch to work on.
   [3] Publish a branch.
   [4] Delete a branch.
   [5] Update the fork.

-> Please select what you want to do (enter the number):

The original repository will be downloaded (cloned) the first time to a folder named fork-gitRepoName. Only files in the fork-gitRepoName folder will be considered for contribution (any changes made to a downloaded official git repository will be ignored).

If you get stuck or are faced with an system error message, please read the FAQ.

How can I update my fork without contributing?

In order to only update your fork, run >> contribute and select menu item [5].

Configure the MATLAB.devTools for COBRA.tutorials

If you want to use the MATLAB.devTools when contributing to the COBRA.tutorials, you can simply configure the MATLAB.devTools on-the-fly by typing:

>> contribute('opencobra/COBRA.tutorials')

Configure the MATLAB.devTools for another repository

The MATLAB.devTools can only be used with publicly accessible repositories.

If you want to use the MATLAB.devTools with a repository other than the default repository, you may run:

>> contribute('userName/repositoryName')

where userName is the name on Github of the organization or the user, and repositoryName is the name of the repository. The URL of the repository would be https://github.com/userName/repositoryName. Please note that this command looks for a repository on github.com.

How to reset the MATLAB.devTools

In order to reset the configuration of the MATLAB.devTools, type:

>> resetDevTools();

This performs a so-called soft reset (clears the local configuration). In order to perform a hard reset (clears and resets the local git configuration), run:

>> resetDevTools(true);

Once the devTools have been hard reset, all details for the configuration have to be set again next time contribute is run.

How to cite the MATLAB.devTools

As the MATLAB.devTools have first been developed for the COBRA Toolbox, the paper of The COBRA Toolbox shall we cited when referring to the MATLAB.devTools.

Laurent Heirendt & Sylvain Arreckx, Thomas Pfau, Sebastian N. Mendoza, Anne Richelle, Almut Heinken, Hulda S. Haraldsdottir, Jacek Wachowiak, Sarah M. Keating, Vanja Vlasov, Stefania Magnusdottir, Chiam Yu Ng, German Preciat, Alise Zagare, Siu H.J. Chan, Maike K. Aurich, Catherine M. Clancy, Jennifer Modamio, John T. Sauls, Alberto Noronha, Aarash Bordbar, Benjamin Cousins, Diana C. El Assal, Luis V. Valcarcel, Inigo Apaolaza, Susan Ghaderi, Masoud Ahookhosh, Marouen Ben Guebila, Andrejs Kostromins, Nicolas Sompairac, Hoai M. Le, Ding Ma, Yuekai Sun, Lin Wang, James T. Yurkovich, Miguel A.P. Oliveira, Phan T. Vuong, Lemmer P. El Assal, Inna Kuperstein, Andrei Zinovyev, H. Scott Hinton, William A. Bryant, Francisco J. Aragon Artacho, Francisco J. Planes, Egils Stalidzans, Alejandro Maass, Santosh Vempala, Michael Hucka, Michael A. Saunders, Costas D. Maranas, Nathan E. Lewis, Thomas Sauter, Bernhard Ø. Palsson, Ines Thiele, Ronan M.T. Fleming, Creation and analysis of biochemical constraint-based models: the COBRA Toolbox v3.0, Nature Protocols, volume 14, pages 639–702, 2019 doi.org/10.1038/s41596-018-0098-2.