We realized that at Big Nerd Ranch, some of the documentation we provide to developers that helps them do their jobs better wasn't really our "secret sauce."

This repository, and its deployed counterpart at http://not-so-secret-sauce.bignerdranch.com/ is the result of making that material public. We hope it helps you be a better developer!

The site runs on Ruby 1.9.2. If using rvm ...

rvm install 1.9.2

The site is configured to use a gemset; create one and switch to it ...

rvm gemset use 1.9.2@not-so-secret-sauce --create

The site uses the Jekyll static site generator installed via bundler. Install bundler and update your bundle:

gem install bundler
bundle

Run a local version of the site that automatically updates as files are added or changed ...

bundle exec jekyll --auto --server

The site runs by default at http://localhost:4000/

This repository does not have a master branch like most git repositories; instead, commits are added to the gh-pages branch so the site deploys correctly to GitHub Pages.

As a Big Nerd Rancher ...

1. Clone the repository
2. Make changes (add a topic, touch some styling, etc.)
3. Commit to the gh-pages branch
4. Push changes back up

As an open source contributor ...

1. Fork the repository
2. Branch off of or commit directly to the gh-pages branch
3. Send a pull request

How do we decide what goes on the page?

To decide if a contribution belongs here, or in a blog post, or in a private document there are a few questions to be asked:

Does the content give Big Nerd Ranch, or a contributor's employer/company, a business advantage over other companies or does the content simply make the life of a developer or other developer better? In the prior case add the documentation to the intranet to keep business rolling. In the latter case add it to this collection. Over time intranets can and should be reviewed, and content can be moved here at your leisure.

Once data is contributed here it should be removed from any private source from which it sprang, perhaps with a reference to this collection when it is moved.

If you find you have content, the bulk of which belongs in this collection, but has some coupled proprietary (customer-centric, internal businessy) data as well sanitize it. Ask yourself the question "Could this hurt ourselves or our customers, even by helping their competitors?" before adding anything here. If there is too much of that type of data see the prior question.

Following the Rails API Documentation Guidelines, where applicable, makes for good writing as well. Active voice, brevity, and clarity are as important as content. If there is code inline make sure your gist is of the correct language type so that syntax highlighting makes the most of your contribution.

In places where content is Big Nerd Ranch, or contributor, -specific use your best judgement in terms of whether or not to name them in the content or omit them by replacing their name with a generic pronoun.

The site is styled by Twitter Bootstrap 2.0.

Create a new markdown file in the topics/ directory:

rake new title='Your awesome title'

You'll want to add the appropriate metadata to the header of your new topic, which will probably look similar to this:

---
layout: topic
title: Code Reviews HowTo
description: How we give back to the open-source community
---

If you have an image in the topic's page, you may also want to add an image_hint_url attribute.

Once the header is in place, finish writing your page in Markdown.

Once you're done and ready to integrate your topic into the website, add an item to the sidebar in _layouts/default.html that looks like so:

<li>
  <a href="/">
    <i class="icon-book"></i>
    Home
  </a>
</li>

The list of available icons can be found here. Try to choose one that reflects the navigation item.

Finally, commit your changes and push. GitHub pages will take care of the rest.