Development Guidelines

This page will serve as a comprehensive guide for developers contributing to the project. It provides information about the codebase, project structure, workflows, and best practices. Whether you’re a new contributor or a seasoned developer, this page will help you work effectively with the codebase. Note that this is a work in progress.

Purpose

This page is intended to:

  • Explain the overall structure of the project repository.
  • Guide developers on how to set up, run, and work with the codebase.
  • Highlight current limitations and known issues.
  • Share best practices and conventions to maintain consistency.
  • Document project-specific tools, configurations, and workflows.

Content Overview

1. Project Structure

2. Setting Up the Environment

3. Working with the Codebase

4. Current Limitations

5. Contributing

Contributing to Delta

We love contributions! However, note that it’s important that you first talk to us in Discussions about what you are planning to do so we both save time and effort. If it’s only bug fixes or documentation, feel free to send PR, those are more likely to pass directly.

Copypasta for license when adding new files

For all new files we create please add the license to the top of the files, see delta/src/neuralnet/layers/dense.rs for an example.

//! BSD 3-Clause License
//!
//! Copyright (c) 2025, BlackPortal ○
//!
//! Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
//! modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
//!
//! 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this
//!    list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
//!
//! 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
//!    this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
//!    and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
//!
//! 3. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its
//!    contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from
//!    this software without specific prior written permission.
//!
//! THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS"
//! AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
//! IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
//! DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
//! FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
//! DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR
//! SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER
//! CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY,
//! OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE
//! OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

6. Additional Resources