Best Practices

This document outlines the standards and recommendations to ensure high-quality, maintainable, and scalable code across our projects.

Code Style

• Linting and Formatting: Use our configured linter (e.g., ESLint) and formatter (e.g., Prettier) to maintain consistent style.
• Naming Conventions: Follow clear and descriptive naming for variables, functions, classes, and files.
• Commenting: Write concise comments where necessary to explain complex logic, but avoid excessive commenting.

Testing

• Unit Tests: Cover critical components and logic with unit tests (e.g., using Jest, Mocha, or similar frameworks).
• Integration Tests: Validate the interaction between modules or services.
• Continuous Integration (CI): Ensure all tests pass before merging any pull requests.

Security

• Dependency Management: Regularly update dependencies and address vulnerabilities.
• Secrets Handling: Never commit secrets (API keys, tokens) to the repository. Use environment variables or a secure vault.
• Validation and Sanitization: Always validate and sanitize user input to prevent common attacks (SQL injection, XSS, etc.).

Performance

• Profiling and Optimization: Identify bottlenecks using profiling tools.
• Caching: Implement caching strategies where applicable to reduce redundant operations.
• Scalability: Design features with future growth in mind (e.g., load balancing, microservices).

Documentation

• Clarity: Write clear and concise docs that are easy to follow.
• Updates: Keep the documentation up to date with any changes in the code or architecture.
• Consistency: Follow the same structure and style for all documentation files.