Docs: move contributor-related info to the contributor guide

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic
 Versioning v2.0.0](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
-When considering the public API, we take into account the tool configuration and external requirements of the framework-dependent binary. Meaning that basically, breaking changes in configurations or in the runtime requirements should be causing a major version increment.
+When considering the public API, we take into account the tool configuration and external requirements of the framework-dependent binary. Meaning that basically, breaking changes in configuration files, command-line syntax, or in the runtime requirements should be causing a major version increment.
 
 ## [Unreleased] (3.0.0)
 ### Changed

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+Contributor Guide
+=================
+
+Prerequisites
+-------------
+To develop Emulsion, make sure you've installed the following tools:
+- [.NET SDK][dotnet] 8.0 or later,
+- [Node.js][node.js] 18:
+  - if you use [nvm][] or [nvm-windows][], then run `nvm use 18`.
+
+Build
+-----
+Build the project using the following shell command:
+
+```console
+$ dotnet build
+```
+
+Run
+---
+Run the application from sources using the following shell command:
+
+```console
+$ dotnet run --project ./Emulsion [optional-path-to-json-config-file]
+```
+
+Test
+----
+Execute the tests using the following shell command:
+
+```console
+$ dotnet test
+```
+
+Docker Publish
+--------------
+To build and push the container to Docker Hub, use the following shell commands:
+
+```console
+$ docker build -t codingteam/emulsion:$EMULSION_VERSION \
+    -t codingteam/emulsion:latest .
+
+$ docker login # if necessary
+$ docker push codingteam/emulsion:$EMULSION_VERSION
+$ docker push codingteam/emulsion:latest
+```
+
+where `$EMULSION_VERSION` is the version of the image to publish.
+
+Updating the Database Structure
+-------------------------------
+If you want to update a database structure, you'll need to create a migration.
+
+This article explains how to create a database migration using [EFCore.FSharp][efcore.fsharp].
+
+1. Change the entity type (see `Emulsion.Database/Entities.fs`), update the `EmulsionDbContext` if required.
+2. Run the following shell commands:
+
+   ```console
+   $ dotnet tool restore
+   $ cd Emulsion.Database
+   $ dotnet ef migrations add <migration-name>
+   ```
+
+[dotnet]: https://dot.net/
+[efcore.fsharp]: https://github.com/efcore/EFCore.FSharp
+[node.js]: https://nodejs.org/
+[nvm]: https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm
+[nvm-windows]

Emulsion.sln

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ Project("{2150E333-8FDC-42A3-9474-1A3956D46DE8}") = "Solution Items", "Solution
 		Dockerfile = Dockerfile
 		MAINTAINERSHIP.md = MAINTAINERSHIP.md
 		Directory.Build.props = Directory.Build.props
+		CONTRIBUTING.md = CONTRIBUTING.md
 	EndProjectSection
 EndProject
 Project("{F2A71F9B-5D33-465A-A702-920D77279786}") = "Emulsion.Tests", "Emulsion.Tests\Emulsion.Tests.fsproj", "{1B3B65DD-FD58-45FA-B6FF-8532B513A7D9}"
@@ -36,11 +37,6 @@ ProjectSection(SolutionItems) = preProject
 	.config\dotnet-tools.json = .config\dotnet-tools.json
 EndProjectSection
 EndProject
-Project("{2150E333-8FDC-42A3-9474-1A3956D46DE8}") = "docs", "docs", "{12336258-82C7-4C09-A73F-8D0B146578B2}"
-ProjectSection(SolutionItems) = preProject
-	docs\create-migration.md = docs\create-migration.md
-EndProjectSection
-EndProject
 Project("{F2A71F9B-5D33-465A-A702-920D77279786}") = "Emulsion.ContentProxy", "Emulsion.ContentProxy\Emulsion.ContentProxy.fsproj", "{A520FD41-A1CB-4062-AFBC-62A8BED12E81}"
 EndProject
 Project("{F2A71F9B-5D33-465A-A702-920D77279786}") = "Emulsion.Web", "Emulsion.Web\Emulsion.Web.fsproj", "{8EFD8F6C-43D3-4CE0-ADB8-63401E4A64FE}"

README.md

@@ -8,16 +8,18 @@ Installation
 There are two supported Emulsion distributions: as a framework-dependent .NET application, or as a Docker image.
 
 ### .NET Application
-To run Emulsion as [a framework-dependent .NET application][docs.dotnet.framework-dependent], you'll need to [install .NET runtime][dotnet.install] version 8.0 or later.
+To run Emulsion as [a framework-dependent .NET application][docs.dotnet.framework-dependent], you'll need to [install .NET runtime][dotnet] version 8.0 or later.
 
 Then, download the required version in the [Releases][releases] section.
 
-After that, configure the application, and start it using the following shell command:
+After that, configure the application (see the following section), and start it using the following shell command:
 
 ```console
-$ dotnet Emulsion.dll
+$ dotnet Emulsion.dll [optional-path-to-json-config-file]
 ```
 
+If `optional-path-to-json-config-file` is not provided, Emulsion will use the `emulsion.json` file from the current directory.
+
 ### Docker
 It is recommended to use Docker to deploy this application. To install the application from Docker, you may use the following Bash script:
 
@@ -47,18 +49,8 @@ where
 - `$DATA` is the absolute path to the data directory (used by the configuration)
 - `$WEB_PORT` is the port on the host system which will be used to access the content proxy
 
-Build
------
-
-Install [.NET SDK][dotnet] 8.0 and Node.js 18 or newer for your platform, then run:
-
-```console
-$ dotnet build
-```
-
-Configure
----------
-
+Configuration
+-------------
 Copy `emulsion.example.json` to `emulsion.json` and set the settings. For some settings, there are defaults:
 
 ```json
@@ -130,62 +122,22 @@ Current configuration system allows the following:
 2. When receiving a piece of Telegram content (a file, a photo, an audio message), the bot will send a link to `https://example.com/telegram/content/<some_id>` to the XMPP chat.
 3. When anyone visits the link, the reverse proxy will send a request to `http://localhost/content/<some_id>`, which will take a corresponding content from the database.
 
-Test
-----
-
-To execute the tests:
-
-```console
-$ dotnet test
-```
-
-Run
----
-
-Requires [.NET Runtime][dotnet] version 8.0 or newer.
-
-```console
-$ dotnet run --project ./Emulsion [optional-path-to-json-config-file]
-```
-
-Docker Publish
---------------
-To build and push the container to Docker Hub, use the following commands:
-
-```console
-$ docker build -t codingteam/emulsion:$EMULSION_VERSION \
-    -t codingteam/emulsion:latest .
-
-$ docker login # if necessary
-$ docker push codingteam/emulsion:$EMULSION_VERSION
-$ docker push codingteam/emulsion:latest
-```
-
-where `$EMULSION_VERSION` is the version of the image to publish.
-
 Documentation
 -------------
-
-Common documentation:
-
 - [Changelog][docs.changelog]
+- [Contributor Guide][docs.contributing]
 - [License (MIT)][docs.license]
-
-Developer documentation:
-
-- [How to Create a Database Migration][docs.create-migration]
 - [Maintainership][docs.maintainership]
 
 [andivionian-status-classifier]: https://github.com/ForNeVeR/andivionian-status-classifier#status-aquana-
 [badge.docker]: https://img.shields.io/docker/v/codingteam/emulsion?sort=semver
 [docker-hub]: https://hub.docker.com/r/codingteam/emulsion
 [docs.changelog]: ./CHANGELOG.md
-[docs.create-migration]: ./docs/create-migration.md
+[docs.contributing]: CONTRIBUTING.md
 [docs.dotnet.framework-dependent]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/deploying/#publish-framework-dependent
 [docs.license]: ./LICENSE.md
 [docs.maintainership]: MAINTAINERSHIP.md
-[dotnet.install]: https://dot.net
-[dotnet]: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download
+[dotnet]: https://dot.net/
 [hashids.net]: https://github.com/ullmark/hashids.net
 [releases]: https://github.com/codingteam/emulsion/releases
 [status-aquana]: https://img.shields.io/badge/status-aquana-yellowgreen.svg