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Contributing to FastCSV-C

We appreciate your interest in contributing to FastCSV-C! This document provides guidelines and instructions for contributing to the core C library of the FastCSV project.

Code Contribution Process

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
  3. Make your changes
  4. Run tests
  5. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
  6. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
  7. Open a Pull Request

Development Setup

  1. Clone your fork:

    git clone https://github.com/csvtoolkit/FastCSV-C.git
cd FastCSV-C

  2. Set up build environment:

    # Create build directory
mkdir build && cd build

# Configure with CMake
cmake ..

# Build
make

  3. Run tests:

    make test

Coding Standards

General Guidelines

  • Use C89/ANSI C for maximum compatibility
  • Follow existing code style
  • Keep functions focused and under 50 lines where possible
  • Use meaningful variable and function names
  • Add comments for complex logic
  • Include documentation for public API functions

Naming Conventions

  • Functions: lowercase with underscores (csv_reader_init)
  • Types: CamelCase (CSVReader)
  • Constants: uppercase with underscores (CSV_MAX_BUFFER_SIZE)
  • Private functions: prefix with underscore (_csv_internal_function)

Code Style

// Function definition style
int csv_reader_function(CSVReader* reader, const char* arg) {
    // 4-space indentation
    if (reader == NULL) {
        return 0;
    }
    
    // Variables declared at start of blocks
    int result;
    char* buffer;
    
    // Clear error handling
    if (some_condition) {
        return 0;
    }
    
    return 1;
}

Memory Management

  • Always free allocated memory
  • Check for NULL after allocations
  • Use appropriate buffer sizes
  • Document memory ownership in function comments
  • Handle cleanup in error cases

Error Handling

  • Return 0/NULL for errors, 1/valid pointer for success
  • Set appropriate error messages
  • Clean up resources on error paths
  • Document error conditions in function headers

Testing

Unit Tests

  • Add tests for new functionality
  • Test both success and failure cases
  • Test edge cases
  • Test memory management
  • Follow existing test patterns

Test File Structure

void test_csv_reader_init(void) {
    // Setup
    CSVConfig* config = csv_config_new();
    
    // Test case
    CSVReader* reader = csv_reader_init_with_config(config);
    assert(reader != NULL);
    
    // Cleanup
    csv_reader_free(reader);
    csv_config_free(config);
}

Documentation

Function Documentation

/**
 * Initializes a new CSV reader with the given configuration.
 *
 * @param config Pointer to a valid CSVConfig object
 * @return CSVReader* on success, NULL on failure
 * @note Caller is responsible for freeing the returned reader
 */
CSVReader* csv_reader_init_with_config(CSVConfig* config);

README Updates

  • Update README.md for new features
  • Keep examples current
  • Document breaking changes
  • Update version numbers

Pull Request Guidelines

  1. Update tests for new functionality
  2. Update documentation
  3. Follow coding standards
  4. Include clear commit messages
  5. One feature/fix per PR
  6. Reference any related issues

License

By contributing, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the MIT License.