updated developer guide docs

Author: harryswift01

docs/community_guide.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+Developer Guide
+===============
+
+CodeEntropy is open-source, and we welcome contributions from the wider community to help improve and extend its functionality. This guide walks you through setting up a development environment, running tests, submitting contributions, and maintaining coding standards.
+
+Getting Started for Developers
+------------------------------
+
+Create a virtual environment::
+
+    python -m venv codeentropy-dev
+    source codeentropy-dev/bin/activate  # Linux/macOS
+    codeentropy-dev\Scripts\activate     # Windows
+
+Clone the repository::
+
+    git clone https://github.com/CCPBioSim/CodeEntropy.git
+    cd CodeEntropy
+
+Install development dependencies::
+
+    pip install -e .[testing,docs,pre-commit]
+
+Running Tests
+-------------
+
+Run the full test suite::
+
+    pytest -v
+
+Run tests with code coverage::
+
+    pytest --cov CodeEntropy --cov-report=term-missing
+
+Run tests for a specific module::
+
+    pytest CodeEntropy/tests/test_CodeEntropy/test_levels.py
+
+Run a specific test::
+
+    pytest CodeEntropy/tests/test_CodeEntropy/test_levels.py::test_select_levels
+
+Coding Standards
+----------------
+
+We use **pre-commit hooks** to maintain code quality and consistent style. To enable these hooks::
+
+    pre-commit install
+
+This ensures:
+
+- **Formatting** via ``black`` (`psf/black`)
+- **Import sorting** via ``isort`` with the ``black`` profile
+- **Linting** via ``flake8`` with ``flake8-pyproject``
+- **Basic checks** via ``pre-commit-hooks``, including:
+  
+  - Detection of large added files
+  - AST validity checks
+  - Case conflict detection
+  - Executable shebang verification
+  - Merge conflict detection
+  - TOML and YAML syntax validation
+
+To skip pre-commit checks for a commit::
+
+    git commit -n
+
+.. note::
+
+    Pull requests must pass all pre-commit checks before being merged.
+
+Continuous Integration (CI)
+---------------------------
+
+CodeEntropy uses **GitHub Actions** to automatically:
+
+- Run all tests
+- Check coding style
+- Build documentation
+- Validate versioning
+
+Every pull request will trigger these checks to ensure quality and stability.
+
+Building Documentation
+----------------------
+
+Build locally::
+
+    cd docs
+    make html
+
+The generated HTML files will be in ``docs/build/html/``. Open ``index.html`` in your browser to view the documentation.
+
+Edit docs in the following directories:
+
+- ``docs/user_guide/``
+- ``docs/developer_guide/``
+
+Contributing Code
+-----------------
+
+Creating an Issue
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+If you encounter bugs or want to request features:
+
+1. Open an issue on GitHub.
+2. Provide a clear description and input files if applicable.
+
+Branching
+^^^^^^^^^
+
+- Never commit directly to ``main``.
+- Create a branch named after the issue::
+
+    git checkout -b 123-fix-levels
+
+Pull Requests
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+1. Make your changes in a branch.
+2. Ensure tests and pre-commit checks pass.
+3. Submit a pull request.
+4. At least one core developer will review it.
+5. Include updated documentation and tests for new code.
+
+Summary
+-------
+
+Full developer setup::
+
+    git clone https://github.com/CCPBioSim/CodeEntropy.git
+    cd CodeEntropy
+    pip install -e .[testing,docs,pre-commit]
+    pre-commit install
+    pytest --cov CodeEntropy --cov-report=term-missing