Foundation repository updates

[j-emberton]

Summary

This Meta issue captures the set of tasks to be completed to get the repository into a suitable position for open collaborative work. Individual tasks are grouped here under headings, however each task will have its own issue, branch and PR.

Repository basics

Repo setup

[ ] - #13 Change default branch name from master to main
[ ] - #14 Improve .gitignore

Static analysis and environment management

[ ] - #9 Ruff formatting
[ ] - #12 Implement python environment and dependency management

Code functional testing

[ ] - #11 Implement basic functional tests and test infrastructure

Documentation