Documentation
Why Documentation Matters
Look, we get it—reading docs isn’t the most exciting part of coding. But here’s the thing: learning to read and write documentation is one of those skills that separates developers who struggle alone from those who collaborate effectively.
Making mistakes is totally fine. Breaking things is how we learn. But before asking for help or diving into a project, spending a few minutes with the docs can save you (and others) hours of confusion. Plus, good documentation means the next person won’t have to bug you with the same questions you had.
Think of these docs as our collective knowledge base. We all contribute to making it better, and we all benefit from having clear guidelines to reference.
Getting Started
New Here? Start With These
Getting Started Guide – Your first stop. This walks you through setting up your development environment and understanding how we work. Even if you’ve coded before, skim this to see how SEAD Club does things.
Code of Conduct – The ground rules for being part of this community. TL;DR: Be respectful, be helpful, don’t be a jerk. Read the full version to understand what we expect from each other.
Contributing Guide – Want to jump into a project? This explains how to fork, branch, make changes, and submit pull requests. Even experienced developers should read this to understand our specific workflow.
Writing Code
Code Conventions – How we format and structure our code. Consistent code is easier to read, review, and maintain. These aren’t arbitrary rules—they’re here so we can focus on logic instead of deciphering each other’s style.
Project Guidelines – Everything about starting, managing, and contributing to projects. Covers project structure, version control practices, and how we collaborate across teams.
Versioning Conventions – How we version our projects. Understanding versioning helps you know which features are in which release and makes collaboration way smoother.
Documentation Itself
Documentation Standards – How to document your code, projects, and processes. Future you (and everyone else) will thank present you for writing clear docs. This guide shows you how.
A Note on Using These Docs
These documents exist to help you, not intimidate you. You don’t need to memorize everything—just know where to look when you need an answer.
Before asking for help on something:
- Check if it’s covered in the relevant doc
- Try to solve it yourself based on what you read
- If you’re still stuck, ask! Include what you tried and what you found in the docs
If you notice something confusing or missing: Open an issue or message the club admins. These docs are living documents—we improve them based on real questions and pain points from members.
Remember: Reading docs is a skill you’ll use for your entire career. Every library, framework, and tool you work with will have documentation. Getting comfortable with technical documentation now will make you a significantly better developer.
Questions or Suggestions?
Found something unclear? Have an idea for improving these docs? Reach out to club administrators or open an issue. Seriously, feedback makes these docs better for everyone.
Let’s build great things together—and document them well while we’re at it.