Best Practices

This section documents established patterns and guidelines for developing within the Eidetica codebase. Following these practices ensures consistency, performance, and maintainability across the project.

Overview

The best practices documentation covers:

• API Design Patterns - Guidelines for string parameters, conversion patterns, and performance considerations
• Module Organization - Code structure, dependency management, and module design patterns
• Error Handling - Structured error types, error propagation, and error handling strategies
• Testing - Integration testing, test organization, and comprehensive validation strategies
• Performance - Hot path optimization, memory efficiency, and scalable algorithms
• Security - Authentication, authorization, cryptographic operations, and secure data handling
• Documentation - Documentation standards, API documentation, and writing guidelines

Core Principles

All best practices in Eidetica are built around these fundamental principles:

1. Performance with Ergonomics

• Optimize for common use cases without sacrificing API usability
• Minimize conversion overhead while maintaining flexible parameter types
• Use appropriate generic bounds to avoid double conversions

2. Consistency Across Components

• Similar operations should have similar APIs across different modules
• Follow established patterns for parameter types and method naming
• Maintain consistent error handling and documentation patterns

3. Clear Intent and Documentation

• Function signatures should clearly communicate their intended usage
• Parameter types should indicate whether data is stored or accessed
• Performance characteristics should be documented for critical paths

4. Future-Ready Design

• Backward compatibility is NOT required during development
• Breaking changes are acceptable for both API and storage format
• Focus on correctness and performance over compatibility at this stage

Quick Reference

For New Contributors

Start with these essential guides:

1. Module Organization - Understanding code structure and dependencies
2. Error Handling - How errors work throughout the system
3. Testing - Writing and running tests effectively
4. Documentation - Writing good documentation and examples

For API Development

Focus on these areas for public API work:

1. API Design Patterns - String parameters and method design
2. Performance - Hot path optimization and memory efficiency
3. Security - Authentication and secure coding practices

For Internal Development

These guides cover internal implementation patterns:

1. Module Organization - Internal module structure and abstractions
2. Performance - CRDT algorithms and backend optimization
3. Testing - Integration testing and test helper patterns

Implementation Guidelines

When implementing new features or modifying existing code:

1. Review existing patterns in similar components
2. Follow the established conventions documented in this section
3. Add comprehensive tests that validate the patterns
4. Document the rationale for any deviations from established patterns
5. Update documentation to reflect new patterns or changes

Contributing to Best Practices

These best practices evolve based on:

• Lessons learned from real-world usage
• Performance analysis and optimization needs
• Developer feedback and common patterns
• Code review discussions and decisions

When proposing changes to established patterns, include:

• Rationale for the change
• Performance impact analysis
• Updated documentation and examples