Development Notes for Contributors
Cordelia's technical choices are a bit off the beaten path. Better to know that before requesting access than after.
This page is deliberately English-only, like Contributing to the Project. The per-repo detail pages it links to under "Sister repositories" are English-only too:
- Español: Esta página solo está disponible en inglés, igual que Contribuir al proyecto. El contenido técnico detallado de cada repositorio hermano tampoco está traducido.
- Français : Cette page n'est disponible qu'en anglais, comme Contribuer au projet. Le contenu technique détaillé de chaque dépôt frère n'est pas non plus traduit.
- Deutsch: Diese Seite ist nur auf Englisch verfügbar, ebenso wie Zum Projekt beitragen. Die detaillierten technischen Inhalte der einzelnen Schwester-Repositories sind ebenfalls nicht übersetzt.
- Italiano: Questa pagina è disponibile solo in inglese, come Contribuire al progetto. Anche i contenuti tecnici dettagliati di ciascun repository gemello non sono tradotti.
- Português (BR): Esta página está disponível apenas em inglês, assim como Contribuir com o projeto. O conteúdo técnico detalhado de cada repositório irmão também não é traduzido.
Language and build
- C++23, with C++20 named modules: code is organized as
.ixx/.cppmodule interface/implementation pairs, not the more common header/source split. - xmake, not CMake.
Homegrown over off-the-shelf
Several pieces that most C++ projects would pull in as a dependency are instead small, purpose-built libraries written for this project
Use of AI in Development
I use Claude Code for development. In fact, it was Claude that drove my re-engagement with coding. Working with Claude feels like the "good old days" of managing a team of developers: coaching on tool use, coding standards, quality, testing, and design reviews. I pay a small monthly subscription for Claude. I review and correct everything it generates, and I enforce quality through extensive unit testing and code review.
There's understandable skepticism about the quality of AI-generated code. My own experience: with well-written specifications, thorough code review, and extensive testing, the results can be excellent. But that quality is earned, not automatic. Most of my own time on this project doesn't go into typing code by hand. It goes into creating and editing coding-quality standards, authoring long and technically detailed prompts, reviewing every line Claude generates, and making sure it's covered by real tests before anything ships.
Hosting
Self-hosted using Fossil, not GitHub.
Sister repositories
Cordelia is one of several self-hosted Fossil repositories that share code and conventions. Each links to its own page: overview, dependencies, package diagram, metrics.
