Onboarding & Compatibility

Guide for contributors and users on architecture, workflow, and platform requirements.

For New Contributors

1. Development Setup

Follow the setup instructions in README based on your platform (macOS, Linux, or Windows).

2. Architecture Overview

• Local CPU Processing: Image tiling and stitching using C/C++ with OpenCV or stb_image
• GPU Acceleration: CUDA (Linux/Windows) or Metal (macOS) for upscaling
• Python Orchestration: Pipeline coordination and testing

3. Development Workflow

1. Fork and clone the repository
2. Create a feature branch from main
3. Implement changes following commit standards
4. Run the full test suite (./scripts/run.sh)
5. Open a pull request with a clear description

4. Important Files

• CMakeLists.txt: Build configuration
• src/preprocess.c: CPU image preprocessing
• cloud_gpu/upscale.cu: CUDA upscaling
• src/metal/Upscale.metal: Metal shader
• scripts/e2e.py: End-to-end testing

5. Testing Requirements

• Unit tests (ctest)
• Integration tests (pytest)
• Cross-platform builds (macOS, Linux, Windows)
• Docker-based isolation tests

For Users

./scripts/setup.sh
./scripts/run.sh

Supported Platforms

Platform	Architecture	GPU	Status
macOS 11.0+	x86_64, ARM64	Metal	Active
Ubuntu 20.04+	x86_64	CUDA 11.8+	Active
Windows 10+	x86_64	CUDA 11.8+	Active

Language Versions

• C/C++: C17 / C++20
• CUDA: 11.8+
• Metal: macOS 11.0+
• Python: 3.9+

Compatibility Guarantees

API Stability:

• Major (X.0.0): Breaking changes allowed
• Minor (x.Y.0): Backward-compatible features
• Patch (x.y.Z): Bug fixes only

Support Timeline

• Bug fixes: 2 years after initial release
• Security updates: 3 years
• Platform support: As long as vendor supports