[docs] Updated contributing page with best pratices

docs/source/general/contributing.rst

@@ -16,6 +16,52 @@ If you intend to contribute in any way please keep the following guidelines in m
 8. Document your changes
 9. Send pull request
 
+
+Virtual Environment
+-------------------
+
+Please use a virtual environment while developing your feature, it keeps everybody on the same page and it helps reproducing bugs and resolving problems.
+
+.. code-block:: shell
+
+    virtualenv env
+    source env/bin/activate
+    python setup.py develop
+
+.. note::
+
+    Another choice is using ``virtualenvwrapper``, they are equivalent tools but ``virtualenvwrapper`` is nicer to use
+
+Style guide enforcement
+-----------------------
+
+Install ``flake8`` and ``isort`` to check for common pitfalls that may have your contribution stopped, they are listed in ``requirements-test.txt`` with the other testing requirements
+
+.. code-block:: shell
+
+    source env/bin/activate
+    pip install -r requirements-test.txt
+
+Before committing your work and opening a pull request run this to check
+
+.. code-block:: shell
+
+    ./runflake8 && ./runisort
+
+.. note::
+    To speed things up you can add your virtual environment directory to the list of the excluded directories in the ``runflake8`` script
+
+Building documentation
+----------------------
+
+To build the documentation for this project please install sphinx inside the virtual environment
+
+.. code-block:: shell
+
+    source env/bin/activate
+    pip install sphinx
+    cd doc && make html
+
 .. raw:: html
 
     <p>