Python File Reader Template

Template for a custom Python-based file reader that hooks into OVITO and can easily be shared with other users.

This repository contains a template for creating your own Python file reader, which can be installed into OVITO Pro or the ovito Python module using pip.

Getting Started

1. Click the "Use this template" button to create your own repository based on this template.
2. Rename src/FileReaderName to reflect the name of your file reader.
3. Implement your file reader in src/FileReaderName/__init__.py. Fill in the predefined functions as needed. More details on this interface can be found in the OVITO Python docs.
4. Fill in the pyproject.toml file. Fields that need to be replaced with your information are enclosed in descriptive [[field]] tags. Please make sure to include ovito>=3.9.1 as a dependency. Depending on your needs, you can add additional fields to the pyproject.toml file. Information can be found here.
5. Fill in the README_Template.md file. Again, the [[fields]] placeholders should guide you. Feel free to add other sections like "Images", "Citation", or "References" as needed.
6. Add meaningful examples and data sample files to the Examples directory to help others understand the use of your file reader.
7. Pick a license for your project and replace the current (MIT) LICENSE file with your license. If you keep the MIT license, please update the name and year in the current file.
8. Once you're done, rename README_Template.md to README.md, replacing this file.

Testing

This repository is configured to enable automated testing using the pytest framework. Tests are automatically executed after each push to the main branch. To set up and activate automated testing, follow these two steps:

1. Write your tests in the test/test_file_reader.py file. You can also use other filenames that adhere to the pytest requirements.
2. Open the .github/workflows/python-tests.yml file and remove the if: ${{ false }} condition on line 15.

If needed, you can also adjust the operating system and Python versions by modifying the following lines:

os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-latest, windows-latest]
python-version: ["3.7", "3.8", "3.9", "3.10", "3.11"]

An example can be found here.

As of August 16, 2023, according to the GitHub documentation, "GitHub Actions usage is free for standard GitHub-hosted runners in public repositories, and for self-hosted runners." Please refer to the GitHub documentation if you are uncertain about incurring costs.