Add comprehensive GitHub Copilot instructions for parser-reflection repository (#150)

* Add comprehensive GitHub Copilot instructions for parser-reflection repository

Co-authored-by: lisachenko <[email protected]>

Author: Copilot

.github/copilot-instructions.md

@@ -0,0 +1,154 @@
+# Parser Reflection Library
+
+Always reference these instructions first and fallback to search or bash commands only when you encounter unexpected information that does not match the info here.
+
+Parser Reflection is a **deprecated** PHP library that provides reflection capabilities without loading classes into memory. It extends PHP's internal reflection classes using nikic/PHP-Parser for static code analysis. The library is fully functional but deprecated in favor of [BetterReflection](https://github.com/Roave/BetterReflection).
+
+## Working Effectively
+
+### Bootstrap, Build and Test the Repository
+
+**CRITICAL: Set timeouts of 30+ minutes for all composer commands. NEVER CANCEL composer operations.**
+
+1. **Verify PHP version**: Requires PHP >=8.2
+   ```bash
+   php --version  # Should show PHP 8.2+
+   ```
+
+2. **Install dependencies** (takes 15-25 minutes due to GitHub API rate limits):
+   ```bash
+   composer config --global process-timeout 2000
+   composer install --prefer-source --no-interaction
+   ```
+   **NEVER CANCEL** - This process takes 15-25 minutes and may show authentication warnings. The `--prefer-source` flag is REQUIRED to avoid GitHub API rate limit issues.
+
+3. **Generate autoloader** (if not created during install):
+   ```bash
+   composer dump-autoload
+   ```
+
+4. **Run tests** - Takes ~6 seconds. NEVER CANCEL timeout should be 30+ minutes for safety:
+   ```bash
+   vendor/bin/phpunit  # 10,579 tests, ~6 seconds
+   ```
+
+### Code Quality and Validation
+
+5. **Run static analysis** - Takes ~5 seconds:
+   ```bash
+   vendor/bin/phpstan analyse src --no-progress  # Expect 18 existing errors (normal)
+   ```
+
+6. **Run code quality checks** - Takes ~5 seconds:
+   ```bash
+   vendor/bin/rector --dry-run  # Shows suggested improvements, don't auto-apply
+   ```
+
+7. **Validate composer.json**:
+   ```bash
+   composer validate  # Should complete in <1 second
+   ```
+
+### Test Library Functionality
+
+Always test changes by running actual reflection scenarios:
+
+```bash
+# Create test script
+cat > /tmp/test_reflection.php << 'EOF'
+<?php
+require_once 'vendor/autoload.php';
+
+$parsedFile = new \Go\ParserReflection\ReflectionFile('src/ReflectionClass.php');
+$namespaces = $parsedFile->getFileNamespaces();
+foreach ($namespaces as $namespace) {
+    $classes = $namespace->getClasses();
+    foreach ($classes as $class) {
+        echo "Found class: " . $class->getName() . " with " . count($class->getMethods()) . " methods\n";
+    }
+}
+EOF
+
+php /tmp/test_reflection.php
+```
+
+## Repository Structure
+
+### Key Directories
+- `src/` - Main library code (30 PHP files)
+  - Core reflection classes (ReflectionClass, ReflectionMethod, etc.)
+  - `bootstrap.php` - Auto-initialization
+  - `Locator/` - Class location logic
+  - `Traits/` - Shared functionality
+- `tests/` - Test suite (37 test files, 10,579 tests)
+- `docs/` - API documentation for each reflection class
+- `vendor/` - Dependencies (created during build)
+
+### Important Files
+- `composer.json` - Dependencies: php >=8.2, nikic/php-parser ^5.0
+- `phpunit.xml.dist` - Test configuration (1536M memory limit)
+- `rector.php` - Code quality rules
+- `.github/workflows/phpunit.yml` - CI pipeline (PHP 8.2, 8.3)
+
+## Common Issues and Troubleshooting
+
+### Network/Authentication Issues
+- **`composer install` fails with GitHub authentication errors**: Use `composer install --prefer-source --no-interaction`
+- **SSL timeout errors**: Increase timeout with `composer config --global process-timeout 2000`
+- **API rate limits**: The `--prefer-source` flag bypasses GitHub API limits by cloning repositories directly
+
+### Build Issues
+- **Missing vendor/autoload.php**: Run `composer dump-autoload`
+- **Class not found errors**: Ensure composer install completed successfully
+- **Memory errors during tests**: Tests are configured with 1536M memory limit in phpunit.xml.dist
+
+### Library Usage
+- **"Class not found by locator" errors**: This is expected for classes not autoloaded by Composer
+- **Parser errors**: Library only works with valid PHP syntax
+- **Missing nikic/php-parser**: This is the core dependency - ensure composer install succeeded
+
+## Validation Scenarios
+
+**ALWAYS test these scenarios after making changes:**
+
+1. **Basic reflection test**:
+   ```bash
+   php -r "require 'vendor/autoload.php'; \$f = new \Go\ParserReflection\ReflectionFile('src/ReflectionClass.php'); \$ns = \$f->getFileNamespaces(); foreach(\$ns as \$n) { echo 'Classes in ' . \$n->getName() . ': ' . count(\$n->getClasses()) . \"\n\"; }"
+   ```
+
+2. **Run core test suite**:
+   ```bash
+   vendor/bin/phpunit --testsuite="Parser Reflection Test Suite"
+   ```
+
+3. **Verify no syntax errors**:
+   ```bash
+   find src -name "*.php" -exec php -l {} \; | grep -v "No syntax errors"
+   ```
+
+## Build Timing Expectations
+
+**NEVER CANCEL - All timing includes 50% safety buffer:**
+
+- `composer install --prefer-source`: **15-25 minutes** (NEVER CANCEL - set 30+ minute timeout)
+- `vendor/bin/phpunit`: **~6 seconds** (set 30+ minute timeout for safety)
+- `vendor/bin/rector --dry-run`: **~5 seconds** (set 10+ minute timeout)
+- `vendor/bin/phpstan analyse src`: **~5 seconds** (set 10+ minute timeout)
+- Basic syntax check: **<10 seconds** (set 5+ minute timeout)
+
+## Development Notes
+
+- This library is **deprecated** - prefer BetterReflection for new projects
+- Library provides drop-in replacements for PHP's reflection classes
+- Core functionality requires nikic/php-parser for AST generation
+- Tests use Composer's autoloader for class location
+- Memory usage can be high for large codebases (configure php.ini accordingly)
+- Compatible with PHP 8.2+ (tested on 8.2, 8.3)
+
+## CI/Build Pipeline Reference
+
+The GitHub Actions pipeline (`.github/workflows/phpunit.yml`) runs:
+- Matrix testing: PHP 8.2, 8.3 on Ubuntu
+- Dependency variations: lowest, highest
+- Standard `composer install` (works in CI with GitHub tokens)
+- PHPUnit test suite execution