Build instructions for dummies

[codefromthecrypt]

Hi, there. I think it would be helpful to have a BUILD or otherwise file that could allow folks who are new to go a quick-start on how to build this. Ex. check version is at least X, watch out for Y (like package internal), etc.

[slimsag]

Thanks for creating this @adriancole -- and I apologize for the (severely) late response here. I'm not sure how I missed this.

I completely agree with what you are saying w.r.t. a getting started guide for users who aren't familiar with Go. That being said, it's hard for me to identify the issues here as I'm already so familiar with it myself. Would these instructions have helped you? Anything else that can be improved?

• Download and install Go (version 1.5+ recomended, check go version) via https://golang.org/doc/install
• Install Appdash by running go get -u sourcegraph.com/sourcegraph/appdash/cmd/...
• With $GOPATH/bin on your path, you should now be able to run appdash serve, check the usage instructions for further details.

[codefromthecrypt]

Yes! These instructions look lovely. I will give them a try.

[dmitshur]

• Download and install Go (version 1.5+ recomended, check go version) via https://golang.org/doc/install

I would just add one more important (and easy to miss) point there, Go requires you to set one environment variable, the location of a home for all your Go code. You need to ensure your GOPATH is set, as documented at https://golang.org/doc/code.html#GOPATH.

[mschneider]

Ok so golang basics are covered. Could you also explain in more detail how to setup the influxdb datastore in a standard cloud environment?

Also, an example walktrough through the configuration, including configuration and scaling guide (based on your experience at sourcegraph) for each individual service would be very helpful.