Maintainer guide
=================

This guide explains the implementation behind the public contract. Read the
shared :doc:`../theory/index` first for mathematical notation and
:doc:`../user/models` for the implemented domains. Internal classes described
here are implementation details unless exported from ``hcphases``.

Maintainer responsibilities
----------------------------

* Keep the public declaration, finite-M target and estimator meanings aligned.
* Preserve signed integer geometry until an explicitly binary reduction.
* Validate independent small references before accelerating or expanding a kernel.
* Keep resource, persistence, replay and continuation behavior part of the
  execution contract.
* Separate engineering completion from mixing, interval calibration and physical
  limiting procedures.
* Retain old software artifacts and original run identities when changing code.

The installed library contains no study-specific seeds, schedules, acceptance
thresholds, campaigns or source-repository discovery logic. Documentation sources
are under ``docs/`` beside ``src/hcphases/``; generated documentation and all
verification outputs belong outside that source tree.

The following chapters cover :doc:`architecture`, :doc:`algorithms`,
:doc:`measurements`, :doc:`execution`, :doc:`validation` and
:doc:`documentation`.