Coding Standards

# Coding Standards & Best Practices

Baseline coding conventions applicable across projects.

This skill is the shared floor, not the detailed framework playbook.

- Use `frontend-patterns` for React, state, forms, rendering, and UI architecture.
- Use `backend-patterns` or `api-design` for repository/service layers, endpoint design, validation, and server-specific concerns.
- Use `rules/common/coding-style.md` when you need the shortest reusable rule layer instead of a full skill walkthrough.

## When to Activate

- Starting a new project or module
- Reviewing code for quality and maintainability
- Refactoring existing code to follow conventions
- Enforcing naming, formatting, or structural consistency
- Setting up linting, formatting, or type-checking rules
- Onboarding new contributors to coding conventions

## Scope Boundaries

Activate this skill for:
- descriptive naming
- immutability defaults
- readability, KISS, DRY, and YAGNI enforcement
- error-handling expectations and code-smell review

Do not use this skill as the primary source for:
- React composition, hooks, or rendering patterns
- backend architecture, API design, or database layering
- domain-specific framework guidance when a narrower ECC skill already exists

## Code Quality Principles

### 1. Readability First
- Code is read more than written
- Clear variable and function names
- Self-documenting code preferred over comments
- Consistent formatting

### 2. KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)
- Simplest solution that works
- Avoid over-engineering
- No premature optimization
- Easy to understand > clever code

### 3. DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself)
- Extract common logic into functions
- Create reusable components
- Share utilities across modules
- Avoid copy-paste programming

### 4. YAGNI (You Aren't Gonna Need It)
- Don't build features before they're needed
- Avoid speculative generality
- Add complexity only when required
- Start simple, refactor when needed

## TypeScript/JavaScript Standards

### Variable Naming

```typescript
// PASS: GOOD: Descriptive names
const marketSearchQuery = 'election'
const isUserAuthenticated = true
const totalRevenue = 1000

// FAIL: BAD: Unclear names
const q = 'election'
const flag = true
const x = 1000
```

### Function Naming

```typescript
// PASS: GOOD: Verb-noun pattern
async function fetchMarketData(marketId: string) { }
function calculateSimilarity(a: number[], b: number[]) { }
function isValidEmail(email: string): boolean { }

// FAIL: BAD: Unclear or noun-only
async function market(id: string) { }
function similarity(a, b) { }
function email(e) { }
```

### Immutability Pattern (CRITICAL)

```typescript
// PASS: ALWAYS use spread operator
const updatedUser = {
  ...user,
  name: 'New Name'
}

const updatedArray = [...items, newItem]

// FAIL: NEVER mutate directly
user.name = 'New Name'  // BAD
items.push(newItem)     // BAD
```

### Error Handling

```typescript
// PASS: GOOD: Comprehensive error handling
async function fetchData(url: string) {
  try {
    const response = await fetch(url)

    if (!response.ok) {
      throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status}: ${response.statusText}`)
    }

    return await response.json()
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Fetch failed:', error)
    throw new Error('Failed to fetch data')
  }
}

// FAIL: BAD: No error handling
async function fetchData(url) {
  const response = await fetch(url)
  return response.json()
}
```

### Async/Await Best Practices

```typescript
// PASS: GOOD: Parallel execution when possible
const [users, markets, stats] = await Promise.all([
  fetchUsers(),
  fetchMarkets(),
  fetchStats()
])

// FAIL: BAD: Sequential when unnecessary
const users = await fetchUsers()
const markets = await fetchMarkets()
const stats = aw