Code Standards

Quick Reference

Core Philosophy: Modular, Functional, Maintainable Golden Rule: If you can't easily test it, refactor it

Critical Patterns (use these):

✅ Pure functions (same input = same output, no side effects)
✅ Immutability (create new data, don't modify)
✅ Composition (build complex from simple)
✅ Small functions (< 50 lines)
✅ Explicit dependencies (dependency injection)

Anti-Patterns (avoid these):

❌ Mutation, side effects, deep nesting
❌ God modules, global state, large functions

Core Philosophy

Modular: Everything is a component - small, focused, reusable Functional: Pure functions, immutability, composition over inheritance Maintainable: Self-documenting, testable, predictable

Principles

Modular Design

Single responsibility per module
Clear interfaces (explicit inputs/outputs)
Independent and composable
< 100 lines per component (ideally < 50)

Functional Approach

Pure functions: Same input = same output, no side effects
Immutability: Create new data, don't modify existing
Composition: Build complex from simple functions
Declarative: Describe what, not how

Component Structure

component/
├── index.js      # Public interface
├── core.js       # Core logic (pure functions)
├── utils.js      # Helpers
└── tests/        # Tests

Patterns

Pure Functions

// ✅ Pure
const add = (a, b) => a + b;
const formatUser = (user) => ({ ...user, fullName: `${user.firstName} ${user.lastName}` });

// ❌ Impure (side effects)
let total = 0;
const addToTotal = (value) => { total += value; return total; };

Immutability

// ✅ Immutable
const addItem = (items, item) => [...items, item];
const updateUser = (user, changes) => ({ ...user, ...changes });

// ❌ Mutable
const addItem = (items, item) => { items.push(item); return items; };

Composition

// ✅ Compose small functions
const processUser = pipe(validateUser, enrichUserData, saveUser);
const isValidEmail = (email) => validateEmail(normalizeEmail(email));

// ❌ Deep inheritance
class ExtendedUserManagerWithValidation extends UserManager { }

Declarative

// ✅ Declarative
const activeUsers = users.filter(u => u.isActive).map(u => u.name);

// ❌ Imperative
const names = [];
for (let i = 0; i < users.length; i++) {
  if (users[i].isActive) names.push(users[i].name);
}

Naming

Files: lowercase-with-dashes.js
Functions: verbPhrases (getUser, validateEmail)
Predicates: isValid, hasPermission, canAccess
Variables: descriptive (userCount not uc), const by default
Constants: UPPER_SNAKE_CASE

Error Handling

// ✅ Explicit error handling
function parseJSON(text) {
  try {
    return { success: true, data: JSON.parse(text) };
  } catch (error) {
    return { success: false, error: error.message };
  }
}

// ✅ Validate at boundaries
function createUser(userData) {
  const validation = validateUserData(userData);
  if (!validation.isValid) {
    return { success: false, errors: validation.errors };
  }
  return { success: true, user: saveUser(userData) };
}

Dependency Injection

// ✅ Dependencies explicit
function createUserService(database, logger) {
  return {
    createUser: (userData) => {
      logger.info('Creating user');
      return database.insert('users', userData);
    }
  };
}

// ❌ Hidden dependencies
import db from './database.js';
function createUser(userData) { return db.insert('users', userData); }

Anti-Patterns

❌ Mutation: Modifying data in place ❌ Side effects: console.log, API calls in pure functions ❌ Deep nesting: Use early returns instead ❌ God modules: Split into focused modules ❌ Global state: Pass dependencies explicitly ❌ Large functions: Keep < 50 lines

Best Practices

✅ Pure functions whenever possible ✅ Immutable data structures ✅ Small, focused functions (< 50 lines) ✅ Compose small functions into larger ones ✅ Explicit dependencies (dependency injection) ✅ Validate at boundaries ✅ Self-documenting code ✅ Test in isolation

Golden Rule: If you can't easily test it, refactor it.

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