CONTRIBUTING.md

Contributing to HATA

Thank you for your interest in contributing to HATA! This document provides guidelines for contributing to this project.

How to Contribute

Reporting Issues

• Use the GitHub Issues page to report bugs or request features.
• When reporting a bug, please include:
  • Python version (python --version)
  • Operating system
  • Steps to reproduce the issue
  • Expected vs. actual behavior
  • Relevant error messages or screenshots

Submitting Changes

1. Fork the repository on GitHub.
2. Clone your fork locally:

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

3. Create a branch for your changes:

   git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

4. Make your changes and test them.
5. Commit with a clear message:

   git commit -m "Add: brief description of your change"

6. Push to your fork:

   git push origin feature/your-feature-name

7. Open a Pull Request on GitHub.

Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/canslab1/HATA.git
cd HATA
pip install -r requirements.txt
python run_hata.py  # Verify the GUI launches correctly

Code Style

• Follow PEP 8 conventions.
• Use type hints where practical.
• Keep functions focused and reasonably sized.
• Document non-obvious algorithms with comments referencing the paper.

Project Architecture

Module	Responsibility
hata/engine.py	Core HATA algorithm (5-phase arc classification)
hata/cli.py	Command-line interface
hata/plotting.py	Matplotlib visualizations
hata/excel_writer.py	Excel and CSV output
hata/constants.py	Configuration constants and datasets
hata/gui/	PySide6 graphical interface

Questions?

Feel free to open an issue for any questions about the codebase or contribution process.