# Contributing to qpdf

## Source Repository

The qpdf source code lives at https://github.com/qpdf/qpdf.

Create issues (bug reports, feature requests) at https://github.com/qpdf/qpdf/issues. If you have a general question or topic for discussion, you can create a discussion at https://github.com/qpdf/qpdf/discussions.

## Code Formatting

The qpdf source code is formatted using clang-format with a `.clang-format` file at the top of the source tree. The `format-code` script reformats all the source code in the repository. You must have `clang-format` in your path, and it must be at least version 20.

For emacs users, the `.dir-locals.el` file configures emacs `cc-mode` for an indentation style that is similar to but not exactly like what `clang-format` produces. When there are differences, `clang-format` is authoritative. It is not possible to make `cc-mode` and `clang-format` exactly match since the syntax parser in emacs is not as sophisticated.

Blocks of code that should not be formatted can be surrounded by the comments `// clang-format off` and `// clang-format on`. Sometimes clang-format tries to combine lines in ways that are undesirable. In this case, we follow a convention of adding a comment `// line-break` on its own line.

For exact details, consult `.clang-format`. Here is a broad, partial summary of the formatting rules:

- Use spaces, not tabs.

- Keep lines to 100 columns when possible.

- Braces are on their own lines after classes and functions (and similar top-level constructs) and are compact otherwise.

- Closing parentheses are attached to the previous material, not not their own lines.

The `README-maintainer` file has a few additional notes that are probably not important to anyone who is not making deep changes to qpdf.

## Automated Tests

The testing style of qpdf has evolved over time. More recent tests call `assert()`. Older tests print stuff to standard output and compare the output against reference files. Many tests are a mixture of these techniques.

The qtest style of testing is to test everything through the application. So effectively most testing is “integration testing” or “end-to-end testing”.

For details about `qtest`, consult the QTest Manual. As you read it, keep in mind that, in spite of the recent date on the file, the vast majority of that documentation is from before 2007 and predates many test frameworks and approaches that are in use today.

Notes on testing:

- In most cases, things in the code are tested through integration tests, though the test suite is very thorough. Many tests are driven through the `qpdf` CLI. Others are driven through other files in the `qpdf` directory, especially `test_driver.cc` and `qpdf-ctest.c`. These programs only use the public API.

- In some cases, there are true “unit tests”, but they are exercised through various stand-alone programs that exercise the library in particular ways, including some that have access to library internals. These are in the `libtests` directory.

### Coverage

You wil see calls to `QTC::TC` throughout the code. This is a “manual coverage” system described in depth in the qtest documentation linked above. It works by ensuring that `QTC::TC` is called sometime during the test in each configured way. In brief:

- `QTC::TC` takes two mandatory options and an optional one:

  - The first two arguments must be string literals. This is because `qtest` finds coverage cases lexically.

  - The first argument is the scope name, usually `qpdf`. This means there is a `qpdf.testcov` file in the source directory.

  - The second argument is a case name. Each case name appears in `qpdf.testcov` with a number after it, usually `0`.

  - If the third argument is present, it is a number. `qtest` ensures that the `QTC::TC` is called for that scope and case at least once with the third argument set to every value from `0` to `n` inclusive, where `n` is the number after the coverage call.

- `QTC::TC` does nothing unless certain environment variables are set. Therefore, `QTC:TC` calls should have no side effects. (In some languages, they may be disabled at compile-time, though qpdf does not actually do this.)

So, for example, if you have this code:

    QTC::TC("qpdf", "QPDF eof skipping spaces before xref",
            skipped_space ? 0 : 1);

and this line in qpdf.testcov:

    QPDF eof skipping spaces before xref 1

the test suite will only pass if that line of code was called at least once with `skipped_space == 0` and at least once with `skipped_space == 1`.

The manual coverage approach ensures the reader that certain conditions were covered in testing. Use of `QTC::TC` is only part of the overall strategy.

I do not require testing on pull requests, but they are appreciated, and I will not merge any code that is not tested. Often someone will submit a pull request that is not adequately tested but is a good contribution. In those cases, I will often take the code, add it with tests, and accept the changes that way rather than merging the pull request as submitted.

## Personal Comments

qpdf started as a work project in 2002. The first open source release was in 2008. While there have been a handful of contributors, the vast majority of the code was written by one person over many years as a side project.

I maintain a very strong commitment to backward compatibility. As such, there are many aspects of the code that are showing their age. While I believe the codebase to have high quality, there are things that I would do differently if I were doing them from scratch today. Sometimes people will suggest changes that I like but can’t accept for backward compatibility reasons.

While I welcome contributions and am eager to collaborate with contributors, I have a high bar. I only accept things I’m willing to maintain over the long haul, and I am happy to help people get submissions into that state.