shopdb-flask/CONTRIBUTING.md

# Contributing to ShopDB Flask

## Coding Standards

### Naming principles

1. Spell it out. If a non-technical user looking at a report would not understand a column at a glance, rename it.
2. No project-specific shorthand. A name either uses a word in full, or uses an acronym from the allowed list below.
3. Consistency beats cleverness. Once a name is committed and used in code, do not rename it for marginal improvement.
4. When unsure, ask: "would a new shop-floor IT person understand this?"

### Database

- **Table names**: lowercase, concatenated, plural. No dashes, no underscores.
  - Good: `machines`, `pctypes`, `networkdevices`, `businessunits`, `auditlogs`
  - Bad: `machine_types`, `network-devices`, `BusinessUnits`
- **Column names**: lowercase, concatenated, singular. No dashes, no underscores.
  - Good: `machineid`, `machinenumber`, `lastzabbixsync`, `isactive`
  - Bad: `machine_id`, `last_zabbix_sync`, `IsActive`
- **Foreign keys**: referenced table name (singular) + `id`.
  - Good: `locationid` references `locations`, `vendorid` references `vendors`
- **Booleans**: prefix with `is` or `has`.
  - Good: `isactive`, `isshopfloor`, `hasprinter`
- **Index names**: `idx_<table>_<column>`. Underscores allowed here only because indexes are infrastructure, not data.
  - Good: `idx_machines_locationid`

### Allowed acronyms (closed list, expand by PR)

- **Universal**: `id`, `url`, `api`, `http`, `https`, `json`, `jwt`, `sql`, `os`, `ip`, `dns`, `csv`, `pdf`, `cors`, `ttl`, `uuid`, `html`, `css`, `orm`
- **Domain (shop floor / IT infra)**: `cmm`, `cnc`, `pc`, `usb`, `vnc`, `winrm`, `ssh`, `ssl`, `tls`, `tcp`, `udp`, `smtp`, `ldap`, `vlan`, `sso`, `dnc`, `focas`, `clm`, `mtconnect`

Any acronym not on these lists must be spelled out. Proposing a new acronym is a separate PR that updates this list.

**Third-party imports are exempt.** Library and stdlib module paths cannot be renamed. `from sqlalchemy.orm import ...`, `import importlib.util`, `from werkzeug.utils import ...` are all fine even if they contain words that would otherwise be banned.

### Banned shorthand

`cfg`, `ctx`, `mgr`, `req`, `res`, `env`, `util`, `helper`, and any other domain-specific shortening. Spell it out: `config`, `context`, `manager`, `request`, `response`, `environment`, `utilities`. Note: `db` as a standalone variable name is banned, but `db` as a prefix in `database` or as part of project name `shopdb` is fine.

**Suffix exception.** Banned shorthand applies to standalone identifiers. As a suffix where the prefix establishes meaning, it is acceptable:

- `printers_bp`, `auth_bp`, `network_bp` are fine. The prefix names what blueprint, the `_bp` suffix is conventional for Flask blueprints.
- `request_obj` is fine when disambiguating from imported `request`.
- `bp` alone as a variable name is not fine. Always pair with a meaningful prefix.

### Code

#### Python

- **Variables and functions holding a database value**: match the column name exactly. No conversion to snake_case.
  - DB column `machineid` -> Python variable `machineid`, attribute `Machine.machineid`, dict key `{"machineid": 1}`
  - DB column `lastzabbixsync` -> Python variable `lastzabbixsync`
- **Pure code variables and functions** (loop counters, helpers, anything that does not mirror a DB field): snake_case per PEP 8.
  - Good: `loop_count`, `current_user`, `validate_input()`
- **Classes**: PascalCase. Spell out fully.
  - Good: `PrinterData`, `AssetType`, `NetworkDevice`
- **Modules / file names**: lowercase. Underscores allowed where it improves readability (PEP 8 permits this for modules).
  - Good: `employee_service.py`, `asset_routes.py`

#### JavaScript / Vue

- **Variables**: camelCase per JS convention.
  - Good: `currentUser`, `isLoading`
- **Variables holding API field values**: match the API field name exactly. Do NOT convert to camelCase.
  - API returns `{"machineid": 1}` -> JS `response.machineid`, NOT `response.machineId`
  - API returns `{"lastzabbixsync": "..."}` -> JS `device.lastzabbixsync`
- **Components**: PascalCase. Spell out fully.
  - Good: `AssetDetail.vue`, `MachineForm.vue`, `PrinterList.vue`
- **CSS classes**: lowercase with dashes.
  - Good: `asset-detail`, `machine-form`

#### API

- **Endpoints**: lowercase, plural nouns. No underscores or dashes.
  - Good: `/api/machines`, `/api/networkdevices`, `/api/businessunits`
- **Query parameters**: lowercase, concatenated. Match column names where applicable.
  - Good: `?locationid=5`, `?isactive=true`
- **Response keys**: match database column names exactly.
  - Good: `{"machineid": 1, "lastzabbixsync": "2026-01-12T10:00:00Z"}`

### Examples

```python
# Good - DB-mirrored fields keep column names; pure code uses snake_case
class PrinterData(db.Model):
    __tablename__ = 'printerdata'

    machineid = db.Column(db.Integer, db.ForeignKey('machines.machineid'))
    lastzabbixsync = db.Column(db.DateTime)
    isnetworkprinter = db.Column(db.Boolean)


def list_printers_by_location(locationid: int) -> list[dict]:
    printers = PrinterData.query.filter_by(locationid=locationid).all()
    result_count = len(printers)
    return [{"machineid": p.machineid, "isnetworkprinter": p.isnetworkprinter} for p in printers]
```

```python
# Bad - PEP 8-style underscores on DB fields, banned shorthand, project acronym not on allowed list
class PrinterData(db.Model):
    __tablename__ = 'printer_data'

    machine_id = db.Column(db.Integer)
    last_zabbix_sync = db.Column(db.DateTime)
    is_net_prn = db.Column(db.Boolean)


def list_prns_by_loc(loc_id):
    bp_ctx = get_context()
    cfg = load_cfg()
    return PrinterData.query.filter_by(loc_id=loc_id).all()
```

### Style policy (non-naming)

- No emojis in code, comments, documentation, string literals, or UI.
- No em-dashes (U+2014), en-dashes (U+2013), Unicode arrows, or smart quotes anywhere. Plain ASCII only.
- Comments default to none. Add one only when the WHY is non-obvious. Keep comments terse (lite caveman style is fine for inline `#` and `//` comments). Docstrings stay normal English.
- Dark theme is default. Keep UI functional and professional.

### File structure

- Core models: `shopdb/core/models/`
- Core API routes: `shopdb/core/api/`
- Core services: `shopdb/core/services/`
- Plugin code: `plugins/<plugin>/{models,api,services,schemas}/`

### Plugin development

When creating a new plugin:

1. Create directory `plugins/<name>/`. Use the scaffold (`flask plugin new <name>`) when available.
2. Include `manifest.json` with metadata. This is the single source of truth for plugin name, version, dependencies, api_prefix.
3. Extend `BasePlugin` class.
4. Follow naming conventions above.
5. Run `flask plugin install <name>` to install.

See the PLUGIN-QUICKSTART wiki page (when published) for the 30-minute walkthrough.

## Testing

Run tests with:

```bash
pytest tests/
```

Tests are required for:
- New routes (smoke + happy path + 1-2 edge cases)
- New plugin hooks (contract test)
- Schema migrations (before/after data integrity)

## Code review checklist

- [ ] No underscores in table or column names
- [ ] No banned shorthand or unapproved acronyms in any new identifier
- [ ] DB-mirrored Python and JS variables match column names exactly
- [ ] API response keys match column names exactly
- [ ] No em-dashes, en-dashes, smart quotes, Unicode arrows, or emojis (run `grep -rP '[^\x00-\x7F]' --include='*.py' --include='*.vue' --include='*.js' .`)
- [ ] Plugin follows `BasePlugin` interface and contract version
- [ ] Tests included for new functionality