Development Steps

This guide outlines the process for contributing features or fixes to the Lakeflow Framework.

Issue Creation

  1. Create a new issue in the GitHub repository

    • Clearly describe the feature or bug

    • Include acceptance criteria

    • Add relevant labels (feature/bug/enhancement)

    • Link to related issues if applicable

Branch Management

  1. Create a feature branch from develop

    • Use naming convention: feature/[brief-description]

    • Example: feature/add-scd2-support

  2. Keep branches focused on single features/fixes

  3. Regularly sync with develop to avoid merge conflicts

Development Process

  1. Local Development

    • Follow coding standards and style guides

      • Ensure the yapf extention is installed and enabled in VS Code (refer to step 2 of Development Environment Setup)

      • Use yapf to format your python code (right click and select ‘Format Document With’ then select yapf)

    • Stick to solid principles and object oriented design patterns

    • Deploy updated framework to Databricks to ensure it is working as expected

    • Use meaningful commit messages

    • Keep commits atomic and focused

  2. Unit Testing

    • Write unit tests per contributor_unit_test

    • Test both success and failure scenarios

    • Ensure test coverage meets requirements

    • Run existing test suite to check for regressions

  3. Integration Testing / Samples

    • Where applicable, add sample pipelines to bronze or silver to show how to use the new feature

    • Deploy and run existing sample pipelines on Databricks to ensure changes are not breaking existing functionality (refer to The Samples)

  4. Documentation - Update documentation per Updating the Documentation

Pull Request Process

  1. PR Creation

    • Create PR from feature branch to develop

    • Fill out PR template completely

    • Link related issues

    • Add relevant reviewers

  2. PR Review

    • Address reviewer comments

    • Update code/docs as needed

    • Get required approvals

  3. Merge Process

    • Squash and merge to develop

    • Delete feature branch after merge

    • Close related issues

Post-Merge Steps

  1. Verify Changes

    • Confirm changes are working in develop

    • Check documentation is published correctly

    • Validate CI/CD pipeline passes

  2. Monitor

    • Watch for any issues in develop

    • Be prepared to address any problems quickly