Demo Create a Pull Request

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How to start a pull request

• Use the “Compare and pull request” banner that appears when you’ve recently pushed a branch.
• Manually create a PR from the “Pull requests” tab when the banner is not present.

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Fill in title, description, and metadata

• Title: Defaults to the last commit message but should be concise and descriptive (e.g., “Fix multi-ball performance by capping clones”).
• Description: Supports Markdown, slash commands, attachments, mentions, and issue references. Use a clear summary, include rationale, and add reproduction steps if applicable.
• Metadata: Add reviewers, assignees, labels, and projects. You can set these before or after creating the PR.
• Drafts: If the work is in progress, create a draft pull request to indicate that it’s not yet ready for review.

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Assign reviewers and check PR details

• A PR receives a unique ID in the repository’s sequence (issues and PRs share the same numbering).
• Assign reviewers (up to 15 per PR), or assign the PR to yourself to track progress.
• View commits and file changes on the PR page to confirm what’s included. This lets reviewers focus on the diff and commit history.
• Use labels and milestones to categorize and schedule work.

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Example: Fixing exponential duplication in a multi-ball power-up

• Capping the total number of balls.
• Creating new balls from a single base ball rather than duplicating the entire array while iterating.
• Only adding as many balls as allowed by the cap.

switch (type) {
  case 'multiBall': {
    // Prevent exponential growth by limiting the total number of balls
    const maxBalls = 5;
    const currentBalls = gameState.balls.length;

    // Ensure there is at least one existing ball to use as the base for clones
    if (currentBalls > 0 && currentBalls < maxBalls) {
      // Use the first ball as the base for new clones
      const baseBall = gameState.balls[0];
      const newBalls = [];

      // Add two new balls with slightly different trajectories
      newBalls.push({
        ...baseBall,
        dx: -baseBall.dx,
      });
      newBalls.push({
        ...baseBall,
        dy: Math.abs(baseBall.dy),
      });

      // Only add as many balls as the max allows
      const slotsAvailable = Math.min(newBalls.length, maxBalls - currentBalls);
      gameState.balls.push(...newBalls.slice(0, slotsAvailable));
    }

    gameState.powerups.multiBall.active = true;
    gameState.powerups.multiBall.activationTime = currentTime;
    break;
  }

  // other cases...
}

• Avoids mutating gameState.balls while iterating over it.
• Prevents exponential replication by enforcing a hard maxBalls.
• Uses a consistent base object to derive clones, making clone behavior predictable.

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Quick reference

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Links and further reading

• GitHub Pull Requests documentation
• Best practices for writing a PR description