I like the idea behind open-source projects (packages, libraries, cms, etc.) and I want to contribute on projects I find interesting (and can help on tasks, bugs, features).
I've been using git for quite some time but to track projects I work on my own. Never had the chance to join a team and develop something together. (I know it's a must to you use vcs).
Here's the scenario, followed by my actual question:
- Found a composer package which I need and like (a wrapper for some service's API written in PHP) and wanted to improve something (a new feature steam released).
- I downloaded the github client (which is pretty strightforward way to contribute to projects on GitHub). Cloned the repository.
- Then I opened my favorite IDE (which is PHPStorm as of date) and added the cloned repo as a project.
- Changed what I wanted and went to the github client again.
- The client showed me the changes and has added to the changelist the
.idea
files from my IDE.
So here's the question:
Do I have to add those file to the ignore list (1) or should I select the option to "discard those changes"(2)?
The problems I see:
In the first case I will update the .gitignore
file which might be redundant if none of the collaborators use PHPStorm or any other IntelliJ IDE.
In the second case I will have to do those actions everytime I want to commit something.
Can you tell me how it's done in the more experienced world?