#944 - Add missing CONTRIBUTING.md

Author: vivekmuniyandi

.github/CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+# Contributing to the Java Client API
+
+The Java Client API welcomes new contributors. This document will guide you 
+through the process.
+
+ - [Question or Problem?](#question)
+ - [Issues and Bugs](#issue)
+ - [Feature Requests](#feature)
+ - [Submission Guidelines](#submit)
+ 
+## <a name="question"></a> Got a Question or Problem?
+
+If you have questions about how to use the Java Client API, you can ask on 
+[StackOverflow](http://stackoverflow.com/tags/marklogic), tagging the question 
+with MarkLogic.
+
+## <a name="issue"></a> Found an Issue?
+If you find a bug in the source code or a mistake in the documentation, you can help us by
+submitting an issue to our [GitHub Issue
+Tracker](https://github.com/marklogic/java-client-api/issues). Even better you
+can submit a Pull Request with a fix for the issue you filed.
+
+## <a name="feature"></a> Want a Feature?
+You can request a new feature by submitting an issue to our 
+[GitHub Issue Tracker](https://github.com/marklogic/java-client-api/issues).
+If you would like to implement a new feature then first create a new issue and
+discuss it with one of our project maintainers.
+
+## <a name="submit"></a> Submission Guidelines
+
+### Submitting an Issue
+If your issue appears to be a bug, and hasn't been reported, open a new issue.
+Providing the following information will increase the chances of your issue 
+being dealt with quickly:
+
+* **Overview of the Issue** - if an error is being thrown a stack trace helps
+* **Motivation for or Use Case** - explain why this is a bug for you
+* **Environment** - Mac, windows? Firefox, Chrome? details help
+* **Suggest a Fix** - if you can't fix the bug yourself, perhaps you can point 
+to what might be causing the problem (line of code or commit)
+
+### Submitting a Pull Request
+
+#### Fill in the CLA
+
+Before we can accept your pull request, we need you to sign the [Contributor 
+License Agreement](http://developer.marklogic.com/products/cla). 
+
+#### Fork the Java Client API
+
+Fork the project [on GitHub](https://github.com/marklogic/java-client-api/fork) 
+and clone your copy.
+
+    $ git clone [email protected]:username/java-client-api.git
+    $ cd java-client-api
+    $ git remote add upstream git://github.com/marklogic/java-client-api.git
+
+All bug fixes and new features go into the
+[develop](https://github.com/marklogic/java-client-api/tree/develop) branch.
+
+We ask that you open an issue in the
+[issue tracker](https://github.com/marklogic/java-client-api/issues)
+and get agreement from at least one of the project maintainers before you start
+coding.
+
+Nothing is more frustrating than seeing your hard work go to waste because
+your vision does not align with that of a project maintainer.
+
+#### Choose the appropriate branch
+
+While the \*master branches reflect the latest released code for the
+corresponding server release, the \*develop branches reflect the latest changes
+that will be released next and are therefore the right place to commit changes.
+To be clear, the following branches have the assigned meaning:
+* develop - the place to make changes for the next release
+* master  - the stable code from the last release
+* 3.0-develop - the place to make changes for the next 3.x release (corresponds with the next server 8.x release)
+* 3.0-master  - the stable code from the last 3.x release (corresponds with the latest server 8.x release)
+* 2.0-develop - the place to make changes for the next 2.x release (corresponds with the next server 7.x release)
+* 2.0-master  - the stable code from the last 2.x release (corresponds with the latest server 7.x release)
+* 1.0-develop - the place to make changes for the next 1.x release (corresponds with the next server 6.x release)
+* 1.0-master  - the stable code from the last 1.x release (corresponds with the latest server 6.x release)
+
+#### Create a branch for your changes
+
+Okay, so you have decided to fix something. Create a feature branch
+and start hacking:
+
+    $ git checkout -b my-feature-branch -t origin/develop
+
+#### Commit your changes
+
+Make sure git knows your name and email address:
+
+    $ git config --global user.name "J. Random User"
+    $ git config --global user.email "[email protected]"
+
+Writing good commit logs is important. A commit log should describe what
+changed and why. Follow these guidelines when writing one:
+
+1. The first line should be 50 characters or less and contain a short
+   description of the change including the Issue number prefixed by a hash (#).
+2. Keep the second line blank.
+3. Wrap all other lines at 72 columns.
+
+A good commit log looks like this:
+
+```
+Fixing Issue #123: make the whatchamajigger work in MarkLogic 8
+
+Body of commit message is a few lines of text, explaining things
+in more detail, possibly giving some background about the issue
+being fixed, etc etc.
+
+The body of the commit message can be several paragraphs, and
+please do proper word-wrap and keep columns shorter than about
+72 characters or so. That way `git log` will show things
+nicely even when it is indented.
+```
+
+The header line should be meaningful; it is what other people see when they
+run `git shortlog` or `git log --oneline`.
+
+#### Rebase your repo
+
+Use `git rebase` (not `git merge`) to sync your work from time to time.
+
+    $ git fetch upstream
+    $ git rebase upstream/develop
+
+#### Test your code
+
+Be sure to run the tests before submitting your pull request. PRs with failing
+tests won't be accepted.
+
+First verify that you have valid server and admin auth info in
+`SERVER_ADMIN_USER` and `SERVER_ADMIN_PASS` fields in
+src/test/java/com/marklogic/client/test/Common.java
+
+    $ ./gradlew clean
+    $ ./gradlew testServerInit
+    $ ./gradlew test
+
+
+#### If your server is not on localhost
+
+You can either create SSH tunnels to your server on ports 8000, 8002, and 8012
+by a command like:
+
+    ssh -L 8000:localhost:8000 -L 8002:localhost:8002 -L 8012:localhost:8012 user@hostname
+
+Or you can update the static `HOST` field in
+src/test/java/com/marklogic/client/test/Common.java
+and the `example.host` property in src/main/resources/Example.properties.
+
+#### Push your changes
+
+    $ git push origin my-feature-branch
+
+#### Submit the pull request
+
+Go to https://github.com/username/java-client-api and select your feature 
+branch. Click the 'Pull Request' button and fill out the form.
+
+Pull requests are usually reviewed within a few days. If you get comments that 
+need to be to addressed, apply your changes in a separate commit and push that 
+to your feature branch. Post a comment in the pull request afterwards; GitHub 
+does not send out notifications when you add commits to existing pull requests.
+
+That's it! Thank you for your contribution!
+
+
+#### After your pull request is merged
+
+After your pull request is merged, you can safely delete your branch and pull 
+the changes from the main (upstream) repository:
+
+* Delete the remote branch on GitHub either through the GitHub web UI or your 
+local shell as follows:
+
+    $ git push origin --delete my-feature-branch
+
+* Check out the *develop* branch:
+
+    $ git checkout develop -f
+
+* Delete the local branch:
+
+    $ git branch -D my-feature-branch
+
+* Update your *develop* with the latest upstream version:
+
+    $ git pull --ff upstream develop