Merge pull request #261 from Bram-Hub/edit-readme

Updated README.md and CONTRIBUTING.md

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# Contributing
+Thank you for investing your time and contributing to Legup! In this guide, you will get an overview of the general principles you should follow when contributing to Legup. Legup is open source software, so anyone and everyone is welcome to contribute to this project. Some of the types of contributions accepted include, but aren't limited to, the following:
+- Developing and maintaining the code
+- Documentation
+- Testing
+
+## Guides
+Please refer to the following guides when contributing:
+- Legup Development Process
+  - [Developer Setup Guide for First-Time Contributors](https://github.com/Bram-Hub/Legup/wiki/Programming-Setup-Guide)
+  - [Programming Standards](https://github.com/Bram-Hub/Legup/wiki/Programming-Principles)
+  - [Suggestions for Getting Started](https://github.com/Bram-Hub/Legup/wiki/Some-Pointers-for-Getting-Started)

README.md

@@ -1,45 +1,77 @@
-# Legup
-### A Project by Dr. van Heuveln
-Logic Engine for Grid-Using Puzzles - a better way to learn formal logic
+<p align="center">
+    <img src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/46334090/180582690-a65937c6-6766-40f7-a21e-c1d8bbb3b26a.png"></a>
+    <br />
+    <br />
+    <a href="https://choosealicense.com/licenses/gpl-3.0/"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/license-GPL%203.0-red" alt="GPL 3.0 License"></a>
+    <a href="https://discord.gg/Ym5p6zUQjE"><img src="https://img.shields.io/discord/882735190785527848.svg?label=discord&color=yellow&logo=discord" alt="Discord"></a>
+    <br />
+    <i>A tool to teach formal logic using puzzles</i>
+</p>
+<hr />
 
-## Goal
-The main goal of the Legup is to provide a better interface for students to learn basic principles of logical reasoning. 
+Legup (**L**ogic **E**ngine for **G**rid-**U**sing **P**uzzles) is a better way to learn formal logic. It was created by [Dr. Bram van Heuveln](https://science.rpi.edu/itws/faculty/bram-van-heuveln), whose goal for this project is to provide a better interface for students to learn the basic principles of logical reasoning.
 
+> Note: A web version of Legup ([Bram-Hub/LegupWeb](https://github.com/Bram-Hub/LegupWeb)) based on this app version of Legup is actively being developed. However, it is very much in the early stages of development and will not be ready for general use for quite a while. Contributions to both versions of Legup are greatly appreciated. If you are interested in using Legup for educational purposes, please use this app version.
+
+## Table of Contents
+- [Background](#background)
+- [Use Cases](#use-cases)
+- [For Educators](#for-educators)
+- [For Students](#for-students)
+- [Documentation](#documentation)
+- [Contributing](#contributing)
+- [License](#license)
+
+## Background
 Dr. van Heuveln has taught logic courses on a frequent basis for the past 15 years, and noted that a good number of students struggle with the systems of modern formal logic that were developed in the late 1800's and early 1900's, and that have been universally used in logic courses since. These traditional systems use abstract linear symbol strings such as `(P & Q) -> (R v S)`, and deploy even more abstract rules such as & Elim to infer new symbol strings from old ones, thus engaging the user in logical reasoning. 
 
 This project brings about the idea that there are more pedagogically effective ways for students to learn the basic and important principles of logical reasoning. 
 
 Legup uses a more visual representation in a more concrete and engaging environment. These and other features of the Legup interface are suspected to have several advantages over more traditional interfaces in terms of learning logic.
 
 ## Use Cases
+The Legup interface allows the user to solve different types of grid-based logical puzzles. Probably the best known example of such a puzzle is the popular Sudoku puzzle, but there are many other types of puzzles that are based on the principle of filling in cells of a square or rectangular grid with different kinds of objects. In all cases, the user is provided certain clues that will force a unique configuration of objects in the grid. These types of puzzles are often advertised as "logic puzzles," and are claimed to train one's logical mind as, using deduction, users should be able to infer which object goes where.
 
-The Legup interface allows the user to solve different types of grid-based logical puzzles. Probably the best known example of such a puzzle is the popular Sudoku puzzle, but there are many other types of puzzles that are based on the principle of filling in cells of a square or rectangular grid with different kinds of objects. In all cases, the user is provided certain clues that will force a unique configuration of objects in the grid. These types of puzzles are often advertised as 'logic puzzles', and are claimed to train one's logical mind as, using deduction, users should be able to infer which object goes where.
+So, how does the Legup interface differ from online platforms for grid-based games? The most important difference is that the Legup interface requires the user to explicitly indicate their logical reasoning. Thus, solving the puzzle due to some lucky guesses is no longer an option! The interface will congratulate the user less on the fact that the user was able to solve the puzzle, but more on how the user solved the puzzle. This is essential to logic. Logic is not about the truth or the correct or best answer, but about deductive implication and valid inference. What follows from what, and why? 
 
-So, how does the Legup interface differ from online platforms for grid-based games? The most important difference is that the Legup interface requires the user to explicitly indicate their logical reasoning. Thus, solving the puzzle due to some lucky guesses is no longer an option! The interface will congratulate the user less on the fact that the user was able to solve the puzzle, but more on how the user solved the puzzle. This is essential to logic: logic is not about the truth or the correct or best answer, but about deductive implication and valid inference: what follows from what, and why? 
+Legup also provides a single interface that is capable of supporting many different types of puzzles. Since most of the interface remains the same, however, users wil start to recognize certain similarities between the different puzzles. In particular, since they have to explicitly state their reasoning, users should start to see strong similarities in their logical reasoning patterns from puzzle to puzzle, is the very basis of the abstract logical reasoning principles taught in traditional logic courses. However, rather than being "thrown in the water" with abstract principles based on obscure symbols, users instead are dealing with a concrete, fun, and engaging logic puzzle. As such, Legup aims to give its users a "leg up" when it comes to the understanding of logic.
 
-Legup also provides a single interface that is capable of supporting many different types of puzzles. Since most of the interface remains the same, however, users wil start to recognize certain similarities between the different puzzles. In particular, since they have to explicitly state their reasoning, users should start to see strong similarities in their logical reasoning patterns from puzzle to puzzle, is the very basis of the abstract logical reasoning principles taught in traditional logic courses. However, rather than being 'thrown in the water' with abstract principles based on obscure symbols, users instead are dealing with a concrete, fun, and engaging logic puzzle. As such, LEGUP aims to give its users a 'leg up' when it comes to the understanding of logic.
+## For Educators
+If you are an educator interested in using Legup, go to the [releases page](https://github.com/Bram-Hub/Legup/releases) to download the latest release of Legup. You can have your students download Legup from the same page. Some sample puzzle files can be found in the [puzzle files folder](https://github.com/Bram-Hub/Legup/tree/master/puzzles%20files).
 
-## Gradle
+## For Students
+If you are a student interested in learning the basics of logic, Legup is a great way for you to get started. If your instructor is using Legup in the classroom and you are looking for extra practice, you can reference the sample puzzle files can be found in the [puzzle files folder](https://github.com/Bram-Hub/Legup/tree/master/puzzles%20files) to get more practice.
 
-This project uses Gradle for dependency management.
+Additionally, if you are interested in computer science and programming, please consider contributing to Legup! Not only would it a great way to practice logical reasoning, but it is also a great way to dip your toes into open source software and contributing to open source projects. 
 
-## XML Board Specifications
+## Documentation
+Documentation is actively being worked on on the [Legup wiki](https://github.com/Bram-Hub/Legup/wiki). 
 
-An example for the Battleship puzzle demonstrates the proper format for XML files to be read in. Puzzles have particular x and y values associated with a location of each puzzleElement. The board size dictates the square size of the board. Legup supports many puzzles, such as Light Up, Nurikabe, Short Truth Table, etc., with others such as Battleship, Skyscrapers, and Tree Tent actively in development.
+Documentation is very much in the early stages, and we would greatly appreciate anyone who is willing to help write and structure the documentation. Currently, the priority is to write detailed documentation on how Nurikabe works, as it is the puzzle that is the most developed within Legup.
 
+## Contributing
+All contributions to Legup will be greatly appreciated. Currently, we need the most help in the following areas:
+- Documentation
+- Test suites
+
+Please read our [contribution guidelines](CONTRIBUTING.md) for more detailed guidelines on how to contribute to Legup.
+
+## License
+Legup is licensed under the GPL-3.0 license, which can be viewed [here](LICENSE).
 ```
-<edu.rpi.legup.Legup>
-    <edu.rpi.legup.puzzle qualifiedClassName="edu.rpi.legup.puzzle.battleship.BattleShip">
-        <board size="10">
-            <puzzleElement>
-                <puzzleElement value="1" x="2" y="0"/>
-                <puzzleElement value="1" x="6" y="0"/>
-                <puzzleElement value="2" x="1" y="1"/>
-                <puzzleElement value="-1" x="8" y="1"/>
-                <puzzleElement value="-1" x="2" y="2"/>
-            </puzzleElement>
-        </board>
-    </edu.rpi.legup.puzzle>
-</edu.rpi.legup.Legup>
-```
-Element values are dependent on the type of `edu.rpi.legup.puzzle`.
+Legup: A Better Way to Learn Formal Logic
+Copyright (C) 2022, the Legup Developers
+
+This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+(at your option) any later version.
+
+This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ ```