⚠️ Clean-Room / Educational

This project is educational and Open Source. No code is copied from other emulators. Implementation based solely on technical documentation and permitted tests.

Final Restructuring of Directories and Gitignore

Date:2025-12-18 StepID:0094 State: Verified

Summary

Final restructuring of the repository to achieve a professional organization. Moved all diagnostic documentation files to `docs/dev_notes/`, icons to `assets/`, and ROMs to `roms/`. Updated paths in the code and improved `.gitignore` to correctly exclude ROMs and temporary files. The root of the project is clean and ready for distribution.

Hardware Concept

This entry is not about Game Boy hardware, but about professional organization of software repositories. A clear and consistent directory structure makes it easier to maintain, distribute, and understand the project by collaborators and users.

Separating assets, development documentation, and resources (such as ROMs) into dedicated folders follows software development best practices, making it easy to create clean installers and distributions.

Implementation

A complete restructuring was carried out following professional standards:

New folders created

  • `docs/dev_notes/`:For development documentation and diagnostics (4 moved .md files).
  • `assets/`:For graphic resources of the project (3 moved .png icons).
  • `roms/`:For test ROMs (4 .gb/.gbc files moved, ignored by git).

Moved files

  • Documentation to `docs/dev_notes/`:
    • `DIAGNOSIS_WHITE_SCREEN.md`
    • `FIXES_SESSION_2025-12-17.md`
    • `FINDINGS_MARIO_GBC.md`
    • `VERIFICATION_RENDERIZED_MARIO.md`
  • Icons to `assets/`:
    • `viboycolor-icon-no-bg.png`
    • `viboycolor-icon.png`
    • `viboycolor-logo.png`
  • ROMs to `roms/`:
    • `mario.gbc`
    • `pkmn.gb`
    • `tetris.gb`
    • `tetris_dx.gbc`

Code updates

  • `src/gpu/renderer.py`:Updated icon paths to point to `assets/` instead of the project root.
  • `tests/manual_scripts/*.py`:Updated ROM paths to point to `roms/` instead of the project root (updated 5 scripts).
  • `tests/manual_scripts/README.md`:Updated documentation to reflect the new ROM location.
  • `.gitignore`:Improved to include `roms/` and temporary asset files (PSD, AI, XCF).

Design decisions

It was decided to keep the diagnostic files rather than delete them because they document important developmental decisions. ROMs are maintained in `roms/` for local testing but are completely ignored by git to comply with copyright law.

Affected Files

  • docs/dev_notes/- New folder created
  • docs/dev_notes/DIAGNOSTIC_WHITE_SCREEN.md- Moved
  • docs/dev_notes/FIXES_SESSION_2025-12-17.md- Moved
  • docs/dev_notes/HALLAZGOS_MARIO_GBC.md- Moved
  • docs/dev_notes/VERIFICACION_RENDERIZADO_MARIO.md- Moved
  • assets/- New folder created
  • assets/viboycolor-icon-no-bg.png- Moved
  • assets/viboycolor-icon.png- Moved
  • assets/viboycolor-logo.png- Moved
  • roms/- New folder created (ignored by git)
  • src/gpu/renderer.py- Updated (icon paths)
  • tests/manual_scripts/test_mario.py- Updated (ROM path)
  • tests/manual_scripts/test_mario_monitor.py- Updated (ROM path)
  • tests/manual_scripts/test_mario_ui.py- Updated (ROM path)
  • tests/manual_scripts/test_mario_visual.py- Updated (ROM path)
  • tests/manual_scripts/verify_renderizado_mario.py- Updated (ROM path)
  • tests/manual_scripts/README.md- Updated (documentation)
  • .gitignore- Updated (roms/, temporary assets)
  • docs/bitacora/entries/2025-12-18__0094__reestructuracion-final-directorios.html- Created
  • docs/bitacora/index.html- Updated

Tests and Verification

The restructuring was verified as follows:

  • Folder structure:Manually verified - all new folders created successfully.
  • Moved files:Confirmed that all files are in their new locations.
  • Routes in code:Updated `renderer.py` to use `assets/` instead of root.
  • Gitignore:Verified that `roms/` is correctly ignored and that temporary assets are also ignored.
  • Clean root:Confirmed that root contains only essential files.

Note:No automated tests were run in this step since it is a structure reorganization. The code maintains its functionality, only the resource paths change.

Sources consulted

  • Python Project Structure Best Practices (general knowledge)
  • Git Best Practices - .gitignore patterns
  • Software Distribution Best Practices

Educational Integrity

What I Understand Now

  • Repository organization:A professional structure makes software maintenance and distribution easier.
  • Resource separation:Test assets, documentation, and resources should be organized in dedicated folders.
  • Strategic Gitignore:It is important to correctly exclude files that should not be in the repository (ROMs, temporary files).

What remains to be confirmed

  • Nothing pending - this is an administrative reorganization with no functional impact.

Hypotheses and Assumptions

It is assumed that this structure will be suitable for the generation of installers and distribution. If the need for adjustments arises, they will be documented in future entries.

Next Steps

  • [ ] Generation of executables (PyInstaller or similar)
  • [ ] Creation of installers for Windows/Linux/macOS
  • [ ] Release preparation v0.0.1