⚠️ Disclaimer: This project is the sole independent work of Réjean McCormick. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or representing the Wikimedia Foundation.

Contributor Guide

This guide outlines the standard workflows for contributing to the Abstract Wiki Architect. Because the system uses a Hybrid Factory architecture, the method you use to contribute depends on the maturity level of the language you are working on.

The Contribution Waterfall

Before starting, identify which "Tier" your contribution falls into:

Tier 3 (Factory): The language is missing entirely. You need to register it so the system can auto-generate a basic grammar.
Tier 2 (Contrib): The language exists but is basic (Pidgin). You want to manually write or paste a better grammar to "graduate" it.
Tier 1 (RGL): The language is part of the official core. You need to update the submodule.

Scenario A: Adding a "Missing" Language (Tier 3)

Goal: Add a language (e.g., Hausa `hau`) that is currently completely missing from the system.

Action:

Open the Factory configuration file: `utils/grammar_factory.py`.
Add the language definition to the configuration dictionary using its ISO code. You must specify the basic word order (e.g., SVO, SOV).
Run the build script.

# In utils/grammar_factory.py

"hau": {
    "name": "Hausa",
    "order": "SVO"
}

Result:

The next time `gf/build_300.py` runs, it will detect the new entry.
It will automatically generate `WikiHau.gf` in the `gf/generated/` folder.
The language is now available in the API (Tier 3 status).

Scenario B: "Graduating" a Language (Tier 2)

Goal: Replace a low-quality "Pidgin" grammar (Tier 3) with a high-quality manual grammar (Tier 2).

Action:

Create a new folder for your language in the contributions directory: `gf/contrib/{iso_code}/` (e.g., `gf/contrib/zul/` for Zulu).
Create your manual grammar file (e.g., `WikiZul.gf`) inside this folder.
(Optional) Use the AI Grammar Refiner tool to help generate the initial syntax rules.

Result:

The build orchestrator (`gf/build_300.py`) automatically prioritizes the `gf/contrib` folder over `gf/generated`.
It ignores the auto-generated Pidgin version and compiles your manual version instead.
The language has effectively "graduated" to Tier 2.

Scenario C: Updating Core Languages (Tier 1)

Goal: Update standard languages like English or French.

Action: Since these languages are managed by the official Resource Grammar Library (RGL), do not edit them manually in the project files. Instead, update the submodule:

cd gf/gf-rgl/
git pull origin master

Verification & Testing

After adding or modifying a language, you must verify that it compiles and generates text correctly.

Run the Dynamic Tester: Execute the test script to verify that your new language is recognized by the binary.

python test_gf_dynamic.py

If successful, the script will output the linearization status for all active languages, including your new addition.