Developer Information

The following information is intended for developers who wish to modify the code.

The pages on Testing and Documentation are also relevant.

Building BridgeStan

Developers should follow the instructions in Getting Started to ensure they have the minimal C++ build tools required for working with BridgeStan.

C++

• We use the C++1y standard for compilation (-std=c++1y in both clang and gcc). This is partway between C++11 and C++14, and is what Stan requires.

• We try to write standards-compliant code that does not depend on features of specific platforms (except where needed for compatibility). Specifically, we do not use OS-dependent or compiler-dependent C++. Our C++ code does not depend on the R.h or Python.h headers, for example. On the other hand, adding new signatures to work with a specific language’s style of foreign function interface is permitted (an example can be found in the R compatibility functions, which requires a particular pointer-based style).

• We try to follow the Google C++ Style Guide, but (a) we allow C++ exceptions, and (b) we allow reference arguments.

• We recommend using Clang format with our config file .clang-format.

Python

• Python dependencies:

  • NumPy

• We autoformat code with black.

Julia

• Julia dependencies:

  • Tar (standard library)

  • TOML (standard library)

  • Downloads (standard library)

  • Inflate.jl (external)

• Julia code is formatted using JuliaFormatter.

R

• R dependencies:

  • R6

Rust

• Rust development is based on cargo, which should handle dependencies and formatting.