README.md

Developer Guide

Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

• C++17 compatible compiler (GCC 8+, Clang 7+, MSVC 2019+)
• CMake 3.10 or higher
• Git
• Doxygen (for documentation)
• clang-tidy (for static analysis)
• lcov (for coverage reporting)

Development Environment Setup

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/OpenQASMCompiler.git
cd OpenQASMCompiler

2. Configure Development Build

mkdir build-dev
cd build-dev
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug \
      -DENABLE_COVERAGE=ON \
      -DENABLE_CLANG_TIDY=ON \
      -DENABLE_DOXYGEN=ON \
      ..

3. Build the Project

cmake --build . --parallel

4. Run Tests

ctest --output-on-failure

Contribution Guidelines

Code Style

We follow the Google C++ Style Guide with some modifications:

1. Naming Conventions

   • Class names: CamelCase
   • Method names: camelCase
   • Variables: snake_case
   • Constants: UPPER_SNAKE_CASE

2. Formatting

   • Use 4 spaces for indentation
   • Maximum line length: 100 characters
   • Use braces for all control structures

3. Documentation

   • Document all public APIs
   • Use Doxygen-style comments
   • Include examples for complex functionality

Git Workflow

1. Branch Naming

   • Feature branches: feature/description
   • Bug fixes: fix/description
   • Documentation: docs/description

2. Commit Messages

   • Format: type(scope): description
   • Types: feat, fix, docs, style, refactor, test, chore
   • Example: feat(parser): add support for custom gates

3. Pull Requests

   • Create from feature branches
   • Include description of changes
   • Reference related issues
   • Ensure all tests pass

Testing Procedures

Unit Tests

1. Writing Tests

   • Use Google Test framework
   • Follow AAA pattern (Arrange, Act, Assert)
   • Test both success and failure cases
   • Include edge cases

2. Running Tests

# Run all tests
ctest

# Run specific test
./tests/parser_test

# Run with coverage
ctest -T memcheck

Integration Tests

1. Test Categories

   • Parser tests
   • Circuit optimization tests
   • Simulation tests
   • End-to-end tests

2. Test Data

   • Store test files in tests/test_data
   • Include both valid and invalid inputs
   • Document expected outputs

Performance Testing

1. Benchmarks

   • Use Google Benchmark
   • Test with different circuit sizes
   • Measure memory usage
   • Profile critical paths

2. Running Benchmarks

./benchmarks/circuit_benchmark

Debugging Tips

Common Issues

1. Parser Errors

   • Check OpenQASM syntax
   • Verify include paths
   • Check for unclosed blocks

2. Circuit Errors

   • Verify qubit indices
   • Check gate parameters
   • Validate circuit depth

3. Simulation Errors

   • Check state vector size
   • Verify gate matrices
   • Monitor memory usage

Debug Tools

1. GDB/LLDB

# Build with debug symbols
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug ..

# Run with debugger
gdb ./qasmc

2. Valgrind

valgrind --leak-check=full ./qasmc input.qasm

3. Sanitizers

# Build with sanitizers
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug \
      -DENABLE_SANITIZERS=ON \
      ..

Performance Optimization

Profiling

1. CPU Profiling

# Build with profiling
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo ..

# Run with profiler
perf record ./qasmc input.qasm
perf report

2. Memory Profiling

valgrind --tool=massif ./qasmc input.qasm
ms_print massif.out.*

Optimization Techniques

1. Circuit Optimization

   • Gate merging
   • Circuit simplification
   • Resource estimation

2. Simulation Optimization

   • Sparse state representation
   • Parallel gate application
   • GPU acceleration

Documentation

Code Documentation

1. Doxygen

# Generate documentation
cmake --build . --target docs

2. Documentation Standards
   • Document all public APIs
   • Include usage examples
   • Document performance considerations

Architecture Documentation

1. Component Documentation

   • System architecture
   • Data flow
   • Performance characteristics

2. API Documentation

   • Class and method descriptions
   • Usage examples
   • Error handling