Contributions

As an open-source project, MOPAC is open to contributions in a variety of forms. Prior notice is not required for contributions, but it may be worthwhile to discuss possible contributions as a GitHub Issue or Discussion or by email.

Developers interested in contributing to MOPAC’s source code should read the guidelines for contribution. Note that the majority of the code base is written in Fortran 90, with small amounts of C, Python, CMake, and Javascript. Welcome software contributions include new features, performance optimization, and expanded test coverage. Reorganization or refactoring of the code base is also welcome, but such contributions may be more challenging and slower to be accepted.

If you rely on MOPAC for some regular workflow, then you should consider contributing tests that are representative of that workflow. This will greatly reduce the chance that future MOPAC development will interfere with your workflow and allow you to benefit from future versions with less worry. Some tests may be used for future performance optimization, so contributing tests also increases the chances that your MOPAC-based workflow will be made more efficient in the future.

The manual on this website has been retained from the old Stewart Computational Chemistry website, which is raw static HTML that was developed using Microsoft Frontpage. It would be beneficial to migrate more of that content into Hugo (e.g. it could be indexed by Hugo’s search functionality), but that would be a lot of work and is only viable as a community effort. Such web development contributions are very welcome and don’t require knowledge of Fortran or the nuances of MOPAC’s code base.

While MOPAC is not presently set up to accept financial contributions, such contributions in the form of donations or contract work are tentatively welcome. This would likely require the creation of a project account or partnership with a fiscal sponsor.