The recent migration to a git-based workflow provides a number of benefits for ATLAS software development. Most notably it has enabled a continual code review through the processing of merge requests.
As a software merge review shifter you will be responsible for handling the processing of merge requests to identify bugs, to check for code defects and to enforce code correctness before any new developed code is accepted into a ATLAS offline release. The efficient processing of merge requests is therefore an important component of the ATLAS software maintenance and development effort. It provides an valuable validation step before release coordinators accept any new changes into the main release branches.
For each submitted merge request a shifter is expected to go through the steps outlined in the merge request checklist and to follow the review process. These processes - and the tools that are used to handle merge requests - will be covered as part of this tutorial.
If you are interested in participating in merge review shifts please first check that you fulfill the requirements outlined on the Suitability page before signing up. To sign up for shifts please contact Edson Carquin to be added to the OTP list. Once registered you can then book and check availability through the ATLAS OTP pages.
Please note that once the shift block is booked you will not be able to modify your booking a week or less before your shift. If you need to change your shift less than a week in advance, you should contact Edson Carquin to cancel the booked shifts for you. This is important to keep full coverage of the MR review shifts through time.
These are interesting shifts to be involved in and a great opportunity to enhance your C++ skills. You will also directly contribute to the successful running of ATLAS software across hundreds of computing sites worldwide and will give you hands-on experience in working within a modern software production build environment. We hope you can sign up!