Contributor Guide#

Thank you for your interest in improving this project. This project is open-source under the MIT license and welcomes contributions in the form of bug reports, feature requests, and pull requests.

Here is a list of important resources for contributors:

How to report a bug#

Report bugs on the Issue Tracker.

When filing an issue, make sure to answer these questions:

  • Which operating system and Python version are you using?

  • Which version of this project are you using?

  • What did you do?

  • What did you expect to see?

  • What did you see instead?

The best way to get your bug fixed is to provide a test case, and/or steps to reproduce the issue.

How to request a feature#

Features that improve sectionproperties can be suggested on the Issue Tracker. It’s a good idea to first submit the proposal as a feature request prior to submitting a pull request as this allows for the best coordination of efforts by preventing the duplication of work, and allows for feedback on your ideas.

How to set up your development environment#

You need Python 3.9, 3.10, 3.11 or 3.12, and the following tools:

Recommended dependency installation method:

  1. Install pipx:

    python3 -m pip install --user pipx
python3 -m pipx ensurepath

  2. Install Poetry:

    pipx install poetry
poetry --version

  3. Install Nox and nox-poetry:

    pipx install nox
pipx inject nox nox-poetry

  4. If you do not have pandoc installed, it will be required to build the docs. The installation method depends on which OS you are running.

Now that you have all the dependencies up and running, you can install sectionproperties with development requirements:

git clone https://github.com/robbievanleeuwen/section-properties.git
cd section-properties
poetry install

Install with the rhino and cad extras:

poetry install --extras "dxf rhino"

You can now run an interactive Python session, or the command-line interface:

poetry run python
poetry run sectionproperties

How to test the project#

Run the full test suite:

nox

List the available Nox sessions:

nox --list-sessions

You can also run a specific Nox session. For example, invoke the unit test suite like this:

nox --session=tests

Unit tests are located in the tests directory, and are written using the pytest testing framework.

Benchmarks#

If the code you are modifying may affect the performance of sectionproperties, it is recommended that you run the benchmarking tests to verify the performance before and after your changes. There are three different benchmarking suites: geometry, meshing and analysis. These can be run like this:

poetry run pytest -m benchmark_geom
poetry run pytest -m benchmark_mesh
poetry run pytest -m benchmark_analysis

Note that a plot of the results can be generated by adding the --benchmark-histogram option to the above commands.

How to submit changes#

Open a pull request to submit changes to this project.

Your pull request needs to meet the following guidelines for acceptance:

  • The Nox test suite must pass without errors and warnings.

  • Include unit tests. This project aims for a high code coverage.

  • If your changes add functionality, update the documentation accordingly.

To run linting and code formatting checks before committing your change, you can install pre-commit as a Git hook by running the following command:

nox --session=pre-commit -- install

It is recommended to open an issue before starting work on anything. This will allow a chance to talk it over with the owners and validate your approach.