Merge pull request #34 from mxmeinhold/readme-updates

Readme updates

Author: mxmeinhold

README.md

@@ -1,3 +1,40 @@
 # Selections
+[![Python 3.6](https://img.shields.io/badge/python-3.6-blue.svg)](https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-360/)
+[![Build Status](https://travis-ci.org/ComputerScienceHouse/csh-selections.svg?branch=develop)](https://travis-ci.org/ComputerScienceHouse/csh-selections)
+
 Selections is a Flask / Python web app meant to help facilitate the application review process for Computer Science House.
 
+### Running locally
+There are 2 methods for configuring this project:
+1. Environment variables: various variables are pulled from the environment by [config.env.py](./config.env.py). This is especially useful for running selections in a container, as configuration may be injected into the env rather than written to a file.
+2. Local config file: creating a file named `config.py` will allow you to write secrets and configuration to a file. Variables specified in config.py will be passed to the application. By default this will be ignored by git. Please do not commit configuration secrets.
+
+Configuration secrets for local development may be obtained from an RTP.
+
+If you add configuration variables or secrets, you will need to add entries to config.env.py so they may be configured in the production environment.
+
+ Selections requires Python 3 [(install steps)](https://docs.python-guide.org/starting/installation/) and pip. Production selections runs python 3.6.
+
+We recommend using either the python [venv module](https://docs.python.org/3.6/library/venv.html) or [virtualenv](https://virtualenv.pypa.io/en/latest/index.html), as virtual environments help isolate your project dependencies and keep your system cleaner and more stable. Please refer to the documentation on those projects for guides on usage.
+
+
+Dependiencies are specified by [requirements.txt](./requirements.txt), and may be installed through pip. Note that on some systems, pip for python 3 must be specified as `pip3`.
+ ```bash
+pip install -r requirements.txt
+```
+
+The application may be run locally with the following command.
+```bash
+flask run -h localhost -p 8080
+ ```
+
+## Code standards
+This project uses Pylint for linting and enforcement of code standards and styling.
+Every pull request of this project will be tested by Travis CI.
+Failing the linting step will block merging of your PR.
+Please run pylint locally before making your PR, it will help save you some time and headache.
+
+To run pylint use this command:
+```bash
+pylint --load-plugins pylint_quotes selections
+```