# Contributing Guidelines

One can contribute to the project by reporting issues or submitting changes via pull request.

## Reporting issues

Please use [GitHub issues](https://github.com/Kotlin/binary-compatibility-validator/issues) for filing feature requests and bug reports.

Questions about usage and general inquiries are better suited for StackOverflow or the [#library-development](https://kotlinlang.slack.com/archives/C8C4JTXR7) channel in KotlinLang Slack.

## Submitting changes

Submit pull requests [here](https://github.com/Kotlin/binary-compatibility-validator/pulls).
However, please keep in mind that maintainers will have to support the resulting code of the project,
so do familiarize yourself with the following guidelines.

* All development (both new features and bug fixes) is performed in the `develop` branch.
    * The `master` branch contains the sources of the most recently released version.
    * Base your PRs against the `develop` branch.
    * The `develop` branch is pushed to the `master` branch during release.
    * Documentation in markdown files can be updated directly in the `master` branch,
      unless the documentation is in the source code, and the patch changes line numbers.
* If you make any code changes:
    * Follow the [Kotlin Coding Conventions](https://kotlinlang.org/docs/reference/coding-conventions.html).
        * Use 4 spaces for indentation.
        * Use imports with '*'.
    * [Build the project](#building) to make sure it all works and passes the tests.
* If you fix a bug:
    * Write the test that reproduces the bug.
    * Fixes without tests are accepted only in exceptional circumstances if it can be shown that writing the
      corresponding test is too hard or otherwise impractical.
* Comment on the existing issue if you want to work on it. Ensure that the issue not only describes a problem, but also describes a solution that has received positive feedback. Propose a solution if none has been suggested.

## Building

In order to build and run tests in the project in IDE, two prerequisites are required:

* Java 11 or above in order to use the latest ASM
* All build actions in the IDE should be delegated to Gradle

To run tests with Gradle, you can execute `./gradlew check`. That will run both unit and functional tests, and it also will check the public API changes.

### Updating the public API dump

* Run following commands to update the public API:
    * Run `./gradlew apiDump` to update API index files.
    * Commit the updated API indexes together with other changes.