update CI workflow

Author: bgreenwell

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -1,30 +1,60 @@
-# .github/workflows/ci.yml
-
-name: CI
+# This is the name of the workflow that will be displayed on GitHub
+name: Rust CI
 
+# This section defines when the workflow will run.
+# It will trigger on any `push` to any branch, and on any `pull_request`.
 on:
   push:
-    branches: [ main ]
+    branches: [ "main" ]
   pull_request:
-    branches: [ main ]
+    branches: [ "main" ]
+
+# This defines the environment for the workflow. We set Cargo to use color output.
+env:
+  CARGO_TERM_COLOR: always
 
+# This section defines the jobs to be run. We have one job called "build".
 jobs:
-  build_and_test:
-    name: Rust Project
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+  build:
+    # The name that will be displayed for this job on GitHub
+    name: Test on ${{ matrix.os }}
+    
+    # This job will run on multiple operating systems to ensure cross-platform compatibility
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-latest, windows-latest]
+
+    # These are the individual steps the job will execute in order
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+    # 1. Check out the repository code so the workflow can access it
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+    # 2. Cache the cargo directories to speed up future builds
+    - name: Cache cargo dependencies
+      uses: actions/cache@v4
+      with:
+        path: |
+          ~/.cargo/bin/
+          ~/.cargo/registry/index/
+          ~/.cargo/registry/cache/
+          ~/.cargo/git/db/
+          target/
+        key: ${{ runner.os }}-cargo-${{ hashFiles('**/Cargo.lock') }}
 
-      - name: Install Rust toolchain
-        uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@stable
-        with:
-          components: rustfmt
+    # 3. Check that the code is formatted correctly
+    - name: Check formatting
+      run: cargo fmt -- --check
 
-      - name: Check formatting
-        run: cargo fmt -- --check
+    # 4. Run Clippy to check for common mistakes and enforce idiomatic Rust
+    #    The `-D warnings` flag treats all warnings as errors, failing the build.
+    - name: Run Clippy
+      run: cargo clippy -- -D warnings
 
-      - name: Run Clippy
-        run: cargo clippy -- -D warnings
+    # 5. Run the tests (if any are defined)
+    - name: Run tests
+      run: cargo test --verbose
 
-      - name: Run tests
-        run: cargo test
+    # 6. Build the project in release mode to ensure it compiles
+    - name: Build
+      run: cargo build --release --verbose