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GpgFrontend

Contributing to GpgFrontend

Thank you for considering contributing to GpgFrontend! As a community-driven project currently maintained by a single individual, every contribution, no matter how small, makes a significant difference. This guide is designed to provide you with a clear pathway to contributing, whether you’re submitting changes via GitHub pull requests or sending git patches via email. Below, you’ll find the steps to set up your environment, make changes, and how to submit those changes. Additionally, you’ll find contact information for further assistance.

Technical Requirements

To maintain the integrity and compatibility of GpgFrontend, please adhere to the following technical standards for all contributions:

  • C++ Standard: Contributions must comply with the C++17 standard. This requirement ensures that we leverage modern language features and maintain forward compatibility.
  • C Standard: For code that involves C programming, adherence to the C99 standard is required. This helps ensure our code takes advantage of more recent language features while maintaining compatibility with various platforms and compilers.
  • Compiler Compatibility: Your code should compile successfully with both Clang and GCC compilers. This cross-compatibility is crucial for ensuring that GpgFrontend can be built on a variety of platforms and environments.
  • Third-Party Libraries: Introducing third-party libraries should be done with caution. Any added library must be compatible with the GPL 3.0 license. Prior discussion with project maintainers about the necessity and implications of the new library is required.
  • Code Formatting: Use our .clang-format and .clang-tidy configurations to format your code. Consistent code formatting aids in maintaining the readability and maintainability of the codebase.
  • Code Maintenance and Attribution: Be aware that the project maintainer may edit your code to better fit the project or enhance compatibility. You are encouraged to include your name and contact information in the code comments for your contributions if you wish.

Additional Standards to Consider

  • Static Analysis: To ensure code quality and catch potential issues early, contributions should pass static analysis checks where applicable. Tools like Clang Static Analyzer or GCC’s -Wall -Wextra -pedantic flags can be used to identify potential issues.
  • Unit Testing: If your contribution adds new functionality or changes existing behavior, including unit tests to cover your changes is highly recommended. This helps ensure that your contributions do not inadvertently break existing functionality.
  • Documentation: Update existing documentation or add new documentation as necessary to reflect your changes or additions to the project. Well-documented code is essential for future maintenance and for new contributors to understand the project.

Getting Started

Step 1: Set Up Your Environment

Make sure you have a configured Git environment. For GitHub contributions, fork the repository and clone it locally. For email contributions, ensure Git is installed on your machine.

For setting up local development Environment, you can refer to this section.

Step 2: Making Changes

Create a new branch for your work, implement your changes while adhering to the technical requirements and standards mentioned, and commit your changes with clear, descriptive commit messages.

Step 3: Submitting Contributions

Via GitHub Pull Request

Push your changes to your fork and submit a pull request to the original repository. Ensure your pull request describes the changes made and the reason for those changes.

Via Email with Git Patch

For email submissions, generate a git patch for your commits and send it to the project’s contribution email address. Make sure to include a detailed description of your changes and the reasons for them in your email.

Contact

If you have any technical questions or need assistance, refer to the Contact document for the maintainer’s email address. We are here to help and encourage a collaborative development process.