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Contributing

Contributions to Photochem are welcome!

Before starting

For a substantial change, consider opening a GitHub issue first. An early discussion can confirm that the proposed approach fits the project and may identify relevant code or existing work.

Set up a development environment and verify that you can compile Photochem by following Building from Source.

Contribution workflow

Fork Photochem on GitHub, then clone your fork and configure the main Photochem repository as the upstream remote:

git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/photochem.git
cd photochem
git remote add upstream https://github.com/Nicholaswogan/photochem.git

Bring your fork's main branch up to date before beginning a change:

git switch main
git fetch upstream
git merge --ff-only upstream/main
git push origin main

Create a new branch from the updated main branch using a short, descriptive name:

git switch -c improve-climate-validation

Make and test a focused change. Commit the relevant files with a clear message, then push the branch to your fork:

git add path/to/changed-file
git commit -m "Improve climate input validation"
git push -u origin improve-climate-validation

Open a pull request from that branch to the Photochem main branch. Continue pushing review changes to the same branch until the pull request is complete.

Pull requests

A pull request should contain one core change. Avoid combining multiple features, unrelated bug fixes, broad reformatting, or cleanup in one contribution. Update tests and documentation when behavior or a public interface changes.

Include:

  • a clear title;
  • the motivation for the change;
  • a concise summary of the implementation;
  • links to related issues; and
  • the tests or other checks used to verify the result.

General style

  • Follow the style of the surrounding Python, Cython, C, or Fortran code.
  • Use descriptive variable names. Comments should explain reasoning or non-obvious behavior rather than restating the code.
  • Use NumPy-style docstrings for public Python interfaces. Cython docstrings should reflect the corresponding Fortran documentation, which is the source of truth for compiled behavior.
  • Use FORD-style docstrings for public Fortran interfaces.
  • Cite the relevant paper and table/equation when implementing a published scientific method.
  • Generally follow CGS units, but regardless, always document the units of inputs and outputs.
  • Write Markdown prose with one physical line per paragraph.