Thank you for contributing!
Below are guidelines for making contributions to REopt Lite.
Please do not create an "issue" if you have a question. We will have a discussion board soon. You might find answers to general questions on our web site and you can reach us at reopt@nrel.gov
Please create an issue for a bug that you have encountered. (The issue template provides more guidance.)
First, please check the REopt Lite Development Plan in case your idea is already in the works.
Please refer to the instructions in the issue template provided in the issues tab for suggesting enhancements.
Note that not all suggestions will be integrated into the public code. Enhancments should provide a clear benefit to the community of REopt Lite API users as well as preserve backwards compatibility (in most cases). Lastly, NREL developer time is limited so we can not create every suggested enhancement.
Besides creating an issue for bugs found in the code, you can help the community by creating a suggested fix for a bug that you have found. Here are the general steps for contributing your bug-fix:
- First, fork the repository and create a new branch on your fork with a name like "fix_some_bug"
- Once the bug is fixed, run the full test suite (instructions for running the test suite are available here)
- If it passes, send a PR to the original repository. If you haven't signed the Code License Agreement already, the CLA Assistant will comment on your PR and request you to sign the CLA. You can simply comment "I have read the CLA Document and I hereby sign the CLA" to sign the CLA.
- If tests aren't passing, then first look the specific test[s] that is/are failing. Then think through - "do I expect the test to fail after introducing the bug-fix I am proposing?"
- If yes, then please provide a clear description of the identified bug, how you fixed it, and explanation for why the fix is making an existing test fail
- If no, then revisit the changes you introduced to identify where the problem is
Not all features or Pull Requests will be merged into the public code. New features must provide clear benefit for the user community, as well as ideally preserve backwards compatibility.
The following describes the general steps for adding a feature to the REopt Lite API:
- First fork the repository and create a new branch on your fork
- Then develop the feature on that branch (a detailed tutorial for REopt-api feature development is here)
- Note that we highly recommend test-driven development
- After the feature is complete, run the full test suite
- If it passes, send a PR to the original repository. If you haven't signed the Code License Agreement already, the CLA Assistant will comment on your PR and request you to sign the CLA. You can simply comment "I have read the CLA Document and I hereby sign the CLA" to sign the CLA.
- If tests aren't passing, then first look the specific test which is failing. Then think through - Do I expect this test to fail after having added the new feature?
- If yes, then please provide a clear explanation for why the existing test[s] should fail after the introduction of the new feature
- If no, then revisit the new feature you have developed to troubleshoot the problem with the failing test[s]
- We recommend using PyCharm to keep the file formatting consistent across platforms. PyCharm has a free community edition.
- Use the present tense ("Add feature" not "Added feature")
- Use the imperative mood ("Move cursor to..." not "Moves cursor to...")
- Limit the first line to 72 characters or less
- Reference issues and pull requests liberally after the first line