The Aria Programming Language

Welcome to Aria!

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First of all, thank you for considering contributing to Aria! We’re excited you’re here and look forward to your help in making Aria a great language for everyone. This document provides guidelines to help you get started.

How Can I Contribute?

There are many ways to contribute, and all of them are valuable.

• Reporting Bugs: If you find a bug, please open an issue and provide as much detail as possible, including the version of Aria you’re using (commit hash most likely), your operating system, the code that triggered the bug, and the full error message.
• Suggesting Enhancements: Have an idea for a new feature or a way to improve an existing one? We’d love to hear it. Please open an issue to start a discussion.
• Improving Documentation: Great documentation is key. If you see a typo, find something confusing, or think a section is missing, please feel free to open an issue or a pull request.
• Writing Code: If you’re ready to write some code, that’s fantastic! Please look for an existing issue that you’d like to work on. If you’re thinking of something else that needs worked on, please file a GitHub issue to coordinate your contribution and avoid duplication of effort.

Your First Code Contribution

Ready to dive in? Here’s how to set up your environment and submit your first pull request.

1. Fork and Clone the Repository

1. Fork the repository on GitHub by clicking the “Fork” button.
2. Clone your forked repository to your local machine:

   git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/aria.git
   cd aria
   

2. Create a Branch

Before you do anything else, review the Getting Started section in README.md. It should give you a compiled build of Aria and a passing test suite.

Once you know you’re in a happy steady state, create a new branch for your changes. Please choose a descriptive name. If you’re working on an existing issue, it’s helpful to include the issue number in the branch name.

# Example for fixing issue #42
git checkout -b fix-issue-42-json-parsing-error

Please consider installing the pre-commit hooks, as they will automatically run checks on your code prior to submitting.

3. Write Your Code

Now you’re ready to make your changes!

The Aria compiler and VM are written in Rust, as are some core parts of the Aria standard library. Most of the Aria standard library is written in Aria itself, and you should be able to make meaningful contributions to it with minimal to no Rust expertise.

• Coding Style: Please try to match the existing coding style. For Rust code, we use rustfmt (which is run automatically by the pre-commit hooks if you install them). For Aria code, please observe the style in surrounding files.
• Add Tests: If you are adding a new feature or fixing a bug, please add a corresponding test case to the tests/ directory. This is crucial for maintaining the quality of the project.
• Add Documentation: If you are adding new behavior to the language or new APIs to the standard library, update the corresponding documentation. This is crucial to allow discoverability of your feature.

4. Submit a Pull Request

Once your changes are ready, it’s time to submit a pull request.

1. Commit your changes with a clear and descriptive commit message.

   git commit -m "Fix: Correctly handle null values in JSON parser"
   

2. Push your branch to your fork on GitHub:

   git push origin fix-issue-42-json-parsing-error
   

3. Go to the original Aria repository on GitHub and open a pull request.
4. In the pull request description, please:
   • Describe the change you made and why you made it.
   • Link to the issue you are resolving (e.g., “Fixes #42”).
5. One of the project maintainers will review your pull request, provide feedback, and work with you to get it merged.

Thank you again for your contribution. It’s an exciting time for Aria, and we’re happy to have you on board!