GSoC 2024 Type Information Project Final Submission

[omar-abdelgawad]

Project Goals

The primary goal of this project was to enhance the Invesalius3 codebase using type information. This involved using developer such as a static type checkers, formatters, linters, and others, with the ultimate aim of better readability and developer experience.

The goals can be listed technically as follows:

• Add required typing information which includes:
  • Adding type hints directly to functions and classes.
  • Writing Stubs for written Cython packages and 3rd party packages such as WxPython.
  • Refactoring snippets of code to comply with static type hinting.
• Integrate MyPy or other static type checkers into the testing and workflows of the repository through a GitHub Action.
• Integrate Ruff for linting and formatting.
• Integrate pre-commit for better developer experience and better robustness.
• Integrate a workflow that uses pre-commit with GitHub Actions.
• Upgrade project setup by writing a pyproject.toml.

Achievements

Over the course of this project, I accomplished the following:

• Development: Added type hints to the major parts of the codebase introducing wx-stubs when needed and also properly integrating all of the above technologies such as Ruff and MyPy.
• Documentation: Wrote a wiki pages setting up tools I integrated such pre-commit while also raising questions about (Clarification on used Python version and software requirements #762).
• Testing: Integrated pre-commit for automatic formatting and linting while also writing a GitHub Action for making sure it ran on the changed files.

Opened Pull Requests

• Setup pyproject.toml for Ruff and MyPy configurations #768
• Precommit integration #777
• Type info Added to gradient.py and inv_spinctrl.py #787
• Introducing wxPython type stubs #801
• Added GitHub Actions for running pre-commit hooks on changed files in pull requests #802
• removed slots and numpy.floating #810
• Cython stubs #811
• FIX: ruff linting errors #829

Remaining Work

As of the final submission, the project is still has some work to be finished. Mainly the following modules/packages still have to be type-hinted:

• invesalius/project.py
• invesalius/control.py
• invesalius/reader/
• invesalius/segmentation/
• invesalius/net/
• invesalius/navigation/
• invesalius/data/ except converters.py, coordinates.py, polydata_utils.py, vtk_utils.py, and watershed_process.py

Challenges and Learnings

During the project, I learned several lessons, including:

• Writing Maintainable Code: One of the key challenges was ensuring that the code I wrote was maintainable and easy for others to understand, especially in a repository with many developers working simultaneously. I learned the importance of following best practices in code organization and readability, which is crucial for collaborative projects.

• Breaking Down Features: Another significant lesson was the value of dividing features into smaller, manageable pieces. I learned that it's more efficient to split features across multiple commits and to divide major features among different pull requests. This approach not only simplifies the development process but also makes it easier for reviewers to provide feedback and ensures that changes can be integrated smoothly.

These experiences have significantly enhanced my understanding of collaborative software development and have equipped me with valuable skills for working in a team-based environment.