In the software development process, it is common for multiple developers to work on the same project. However, it is important to combine and manage the codes of different developers in a safe and coordinated way. This is where the concept of Pull Request (PR) comes into play. In this article, I will touch on the importance of the concept of Pull Request.
What is a Pull Request?
A Pull Request is a request that a developer submits to other developers and project managers to merge the changes they want to make into the main code branch of the project. When a pull request is created, other team members collaborate to review and approve the changes.
What is the Purpose of a Pull Request?
The main purpose of Pull Request is to increase code quality, ensure standardization, and detect and fix potential errors by carefully examining code changes. In addition, multiple developers are allowed to work in a coordinated manner on the same project through pull requests.
Of course, the benefits of Pull Requests are not limited to this. Teams can usually take on interns for training purposes or a new developer can join the team during the project process. Pull requests are an important tool to ensure that these people adapt to the project quickly and maintain project standards. In addition, these team members can find the opportunity to improve themselves by reviewing the pull requests of other friends.
Pull Request Process
- The developer creates a new branch from the main branch in order to begin development.
- They then add their changes to this branch and push the updates.
- To create a pull request, you need to use the GitHub interface. (Although it’s technically possible to do this through commands, the process can be quite tedious and time-consuming, so I recommend using the interface.)
- To start, go to the repository of your project and navigate to the “Pull requests” tab. From there, click the “New pull request” button to initiate a new pull request.
- On the screen that appears, you’ll need to select the main branch or another branch you want to merge into. Then you will see a list of the changes you made on your working branch.
- After completing these selections, click the “Create pull request” button to proceed.
- The next screen contains the final step of creating the pull request. In the center, you’ll find fields to enter a title and description for the pull request. On the right side, you can assign reviewers, link issues, and configure additional options.
- Once you’ve updated the additional information for the pull request, click the “Create pull request” button again to finalize it.
Pull Request Review
When you open an existing pull request, go to the “Files changed” tab. Here, the file-by-file code changes are presented to you. You can review the changes and leave comments on specific lines where you notice errors or have suggestions.
Finally, click the “Review changes” button at the top of the page to:
- Submit your comments to the pull request author,
- Approve the changes,
- Request further changes if needed.
Merging a Pull Request
A reviewed pull request can be merged from its main tab using the “Merge” button. Before performing the merge, all conditions for merging must be satisfied — such as having at least one approval, all tests passing, and any other project-specific requirements.
Thank you for reading my post, I hope it was helpful to you 🙂
Good luck with your work…
