Feature/lazy timestamp loading

CLAUDE.md

@@ -11,8 +11,16 @@ This is a Python package that converts SpikeGadgets .rec files (electrophysiolog
 **Environment Setup:**
 
 ```bash
+# Use either conda or mamba
+conda env create -f environment.yml
+# OR
 mamba env create -f environment.yml
+
+# Activate environment
+conda activate trodes_to_nwb
+# OR
 mamba activate trodes_to_nwb
+
 pip install -e .
 ```
 
@@ -89,6 +97,67 @@ Required files per session:
 2. Push tag to GitHub (triggers PyPI upload)
 3. Create GitHub release
 
+## Development Best Practices
+
+### Test-Driven Development (TDD)
+- **Write tests first** before implementing new features or fixing bugs
+- Follow the TDD cycle: Red (write failing test) → Green (make it pass) → Refactor
+- All new functionality must have corresponding unit tests
+- Integration tests required for complex workflows involving multiple components
+
+### Quality Assurance Requirements
+**All code changes must pass:**
+
+```bash
+# Run linting (must pass with no errors)
+black .
+ruff check .
+
+# Run type checking
+mypy src/
+
+# Run full test suite with coverage
+pytest --cov=src --cov-report=xml --doctest-modules -v --pyargs trodes_to_nwb
+```
+
+### Development Workflow
+1. **Feature Branches**: Create feature branches for all changes (`git checkout -b feature/issue-XXX-description`)
+2. **Incremental Development**: Make small, focused commits that can be easily reviewed and tested
+3. **Continuous Testing**: Run tests frequently during development to catch issues early
+4. **Pre-commit Validation**: Ensure linting and tests pass before committing
+
+### Code Quality Standards
+- **Test Coverage**: Maintain >90% code coverage for new code
+- **Documentation**: All public functions must have docstrings with examples
+- **Type Hints**: Use type annotations for all function parameters and return values
+- **Error Handling**: Provide clear, actionable error messages with debugging context
+- **Performance**: Consider memory usage and processing time for large datasets (17+ hour recordings)
+
+### Pull Request Requirements
+Before submitting PRs, ensure:
+- [ ] All linting passes (`black .`, `ruff check .`)
+- [ ] All tests pass with no failures or warnings
+- [ ] New functionality includes unit tests
+- [ ] Code coverage remains above current level
+- [ ] Documentation updated for user-facing changes
+- [ ] Performance impact assessed for large files
+
+### Testing Strategy
+**Unit Tests**: Focus on individual functions and classes
+- Mock external dependencies and file I/O
+- Test edge cases and error conditions
+- Validate data transformations and calculations
+
+**Integration Tests**: Test complete workflows
+- Use real test data files where possible
+- Validate end-to-end conversion pipelines
+- Test memory usage on realistic file sizes
+
+**Performance Tests**: Ensure scalability
+- Benchmark conversion times for different file sizes
+- Monitor memory usage during processing
+- Validate parallel processing efficiency
+
 ## Important Notes
 
 - Package supports Python >=3.8