# Contributing to nmea-kit
## Getting started
```sh
git clone https://github.com/amoutiers/nmea-kit
cd nmea-kit
git config core.hooksPath .githooks # enable pre-commit checks (fmt + clippy)
cargo test --all-features # verify everything passes
```
## TDD workflow
Tests come first. Every change follows this cycle:
1. **Write a failing test** — use a real NMEA/AIS fixture from SignalK, GPSD, or pynmeagps. Never invent sentences — use documented wire formats with verified checksums.
2. **Watch it fail** — `cargo test --all-features` must show the new test failing for the right reason (missing struct, wrong value, etc.).
3. **Write the minimum code** to make it pass.
4. **Add a roundtrip test** — for every NMEA sentence: construct a struct, call `to_sentence()`, re-parse with `parse_frame()` + `Type::parse()`, assert fields match. This catches encode/decode asymmetry.
5. **Run the full suite** before committing:
```sh
cargo fmt
cargo clippy --all-features --all-targets -- -D warnings
cargo test --all-features
```
CI enforces all three — a commit that fails any of them blocks the publish workflow.
## Adding a standard NMEA sentence type
1. Create `src/nmea/sentences/xyz.rs` with struct + `parse()` + `NmeaEncodable` impl + `#[cfg(test)]` block
2. Add `xyz = []` to `[features]` in `Cargo.toml`, and add `"xyz"` to the `nmea` feature list
3. Add `#[cfg(feature = "xyz")] mod xyz;` and `#[cfg(feature = "xyz")] pub use xyz::*;` to `sentences/mod.rs`
4. Add `["xyz", Xyz, "XYZ"],` to the `standard:` section of the `nmea_sentences!` macro in `nmea/mod.rs`
5. Add `feature = "xyz"` to the `any(...)` gate in `lib.rs`
6. Create `tests/nmea/xyz.rs` with `dispatch`, `decode_encode`, and `roundtrip` tests
## Adding a proprietary NMEA sentence type
Proprietary sentences start with `$P` (e.g. `$PASHR`, `$PSKPDPT`). The frame parser
sets `talker = ""` and `sentence_type` = the full address, so there is no collision
with standard 3-char sentence types.
1. Create `src/nmea/sentences/pxyz.rs` — same pattern as standard, but:
- Set `const PROPRIETARY_ID: &str = "PXYZ";` (the full wire address)
- `const SENTENCE_TYPE` stays as the last 3 chars (legacy compat)
- Use `to_proprietary_sentence()` in tests instead of `to_sentence(talker)`
2. Add `pxyz = []` to `[features]` in `Cargo.toml`, and add `"pxyz"` to the `nmea` feature list
3. Add `#[cfg(feature = "pxyz")] mod pxyz;` and `pub use pxyz::*;` to `sentences/mod.rs`
4. Add `["pxyz", Pxyz, "PXYZ"],` to the `proprietary:` section of the `nmea_sentences!` macro in `nmea/mod.rs`
5. Add `feature = "pxyz"` to the `any(...)` gate in `lib.rs`
6. Create `tests/nmea/pxyz.rs` with `dispatch`, `decode_encode`, and `roundtrip` tests
## What each sentence file must contain
**Unit tests** in `src/nmea/sentences/{type}.rs`:
```rust
#[cfg(test)] mod tests {
// Required:
// {type}_empty — parse sentence with all empty fields, assert all None
// {type}_encode_roundtrip — construct → to_sentence() → parse_frame → parse → assert_eq
// At least one fixture test:
// {type}_{description}_{source} — parse a real sentence, assert key fields
}
```
**Integration tests** in `tests/nmea/{type}.rs`:
```rust
#![cfg(feature = "{type}")]
// Required:
// dispatch — NmeaSentence::parse() returns the correct variant
// decode_encode — parse raw sentence → encode → re-parse → assert_eq
// roundtrip — construct struct → to_sentence() → parse → assert_eq
```
## Test naming conventions
- `{type}_empty` — all fields None (no source suffix)
- `{type}_encode_roundtrip` — construct → encode → re-parse → assert equal
- `{type}_{description}_signalk` — from SignalK fixtures
- `{type}_{description}_gpsd` — from GPSD fixtures
- `{type}_{description}_pynmeagps` — from pynmeagps fixtures
- `{type}_{description}_gonmea` — from go-nmea fixtures
- Source suffix is always at the end of the test name
- Tests within each `mod tests` block are sorted alphabetically
## Test fixture sources (in order of preference)
1. **SignalK** — `external_fixtures/signalk-parser-nmea0183/` — real device fixtures with edge cases
2. **GPSD** — `gitlab.com/gpsd/gpsd/test/daemon/` — real device captures (Garmin, Humminbird, Saab, pypilot)
3. **pynmeagps** — `external_fixtures/pynmeagps/` — canonical field definitions for struct design
4. **go-nmea** — `external_fixtures/go-nmea/` — 80+ sentence types with test fixtures
5. **Synthetic** — only when no real fixture exists. Compute checksum manually: XOR all bytes between `$`/`!` (exclusive) and `*` (exclusive), format as 2-digit uppercase hex.
## Test rules
- Every sentence must have an `_empty` test and an `_encode_roundtrip` test
- Every fixture test must have a source suffix (`_signalk`, `_gpsd`, `_pynmeagps`, `_gonmea`)
- Use `assert_eq!(original, parsed)` for roundtrip tests — not field-by-field comparison
- Use `expect("description")` instead of `unwrap()` (clippy enforces this)
## Code style
- Zero external dependencies — no `nom`, no proc-macro, no `serde`
- No `unwrap()` in library code — `expect("description")` in tests only
- No `panic!`, `todo!`, or `#[allow(dead_code)]` in `src/`
- Rust edition 2024, MSRV 1.85.0
- AIS is read-only — encoding would go behind an `ais-encode` feature (not yet implemented)
## Known design issues
- **`FieldWriter::f32` formatting** — `format!("{v}")` may drop trailing `.0` or leading zeros vs original wire format (checksums still match).
## Reporting issues
Open an issue on GitHub. Include the raw NMEA/AIS sentence that triggered the problem.