[marinlauber]

• move the code to src/python_vpp/ and the model coefficient data to src/python_vpp/dat/, loaded relative to the package (DATA_DIR) so the VPP runs from any working directory
• ship the YD-41 righting arm curve as the fallback when no GZ is given and there is no righting_moment.json in the working directory
• expose VPP, Yacht, appendages and sails at the package top level, with version from the installed metadata
• relative imports inside the package; drop the sys.path hacks
• pyproject: wheel package path, project URLs, keywords, slim sdist
• README: pip install, usage example and release steps

Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01JN4y2NWa8kFMBZ5FV92jkj

[marinlauber]

The release takes two steps:

1. On PyPI: go to Your account → Publishing → Add a pending publisher. Enter project python-vpp, owner marinlauber, repo Python-VPP, workflow python-publish.yml, and leave the environment empty.
2. On GitHub: create a release with the tag v1.0.0 on master. The workflow then builds the package and uploads it to PyPI.

Once it's out, you can check it with pip install python-vpp in a fresh environment.

[Copilot]

🔵 Needs a closer look

It is a release-critical repackaging whose core risk—whether the built wheel actually bundles the dat/ coefficient data—cannot be confirmed without a human build-and-inspect step.

No open issues 🎉

What changed in this PR

This PR restructures the project so it can be published to PyPI as the python_vpp distribution. The source moves from src/ into a proper package directory src/python_vpp/, model coefficient data moves to src/python_vpp/dat/ and is loaded relative to the package (via a new DATA_DIR) so the VPP runs from any working directory, and the previous sys.path hacks plus absolute src.* imports are replaced with package-relative imports. The package top level now exposes the key classes and a metadata-derived __version__, and the YD-41 righting-arm curve ships as a fallback when no GZ is provided and no righting_moment.json exists in the working directory.

Changes:

• Introduced src/python_vpp/ package with __init__.py exports (VPP, Yacht, appendages, sails) and __version__; converted all intra-package imports to relative imports.
• Added DATA_DIR and loaded all .dat/.csv/.json coefficient data package-relative; bundled packaged data (including a fallback righting_moment.json).
• Updated packaging (pyproject.toml wheel/sdist, URLs, keywords), Procfile, docs, README (install/usage/release), and all test/script/demo imports to the new package path.

File	Description
src/​python_vpp/​__init__.py	New package init exposing public API and resolving __version__ from installed metadata
src/​python_vpp/​UtilsMod.py	Adds DATA_DIR and loads .dat files package-relative
src/​python_vpp/​SailMod.py	Loads sail coefficient data via DATA_DIR; drops local os import
src/​python_vpp/​HydroMod.py	Loads ORC drag surfaces via DATA_DIR
src/​python_vpp/​YachtMod.py	Righting-moment load falls back to packaged YD-41 curve; docstring updated
src/​python_vpp/​AeroMod.py /​ VPPMod.py /​ api.py	Switched to package-relative imports; removed sys.path hack in api
src/​python_vpp/​dat/​**	Model coefficient/data files relocated into the package
src/​__init__.py	Removed obsolete namespace init
pyproject.toml	Wheel package path, sdist include, project URLs, keywords, classifiers
Procfile	gunicorn now --chdir src and loads python_vpp.api:app
README.md	Adds install/usage/release docs for the packaged workflow
sphinx/​conf.py, sphinx/​index.rst	Point autodoc at ../src and python_vpp.VPPMod
runVPP.py, scripts/​Resistance.py, benchmark/​benchmark.py, demos/​pages/​1_VPP_⛵.py	Updated imports to the new package path
tests/​*.py	Updated imports from src.* to python_vpp.*

_{Review effort: Balanced}