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Coding Standards

Coding standards define how software is written across the PrintPrice platform.

Their purpose is to improve readability, reliability, maintainability, and team consistency.

Principles​

The platform should prioritize code that is:

  • clear
  • explicit
  • testable
  • deterministic where required
  • easy to review
  • safe in production

Readability should generally be preferred over unnecessary cleverness.

Naming​

Names should be descriptive and consistent.

Recommended patterns include:

  • explicit function names
  • stable field naming across services
  • normalized domain terminology
  • avoidance of ambiguous abbreviations

Consistency is particularly important in pricing, preflight, and compatibility logic.

Function Design​

Functions should ideally be:

  • focused
  • composable
  • predictable
  • easy to test

Large mixed-responsibility functions should be avoided where practical.

Module Boundaries​

Modules should reflect platform responsibilities.

For example, logic should remain clearly separated between:

  • pricing
  • preflight
  • production intelligence
  • compatibility
  • routing
  • integrations

This helps avoid architectural drift.

Error Handling​

Errors should be handled explicitly.

Recommended practices include:

  • structured error responses
  • meaningful internal logging
  • safe external messages
  • avoiding silent failure paths

In production systems, hidden failure is usually worse than visible failure.

Data Contracts​

Because PrintPrice is integration-heavy, data contracts must remain stable and explicit.

Developers should:

  • avoid breaking field names casually
  • document schema changes
  • prefer additive evolution where possible
  • normalize inputs before processing

Style Consistency​

Teams should maintain consistent style conventions for:

  • formatting
  • imports
  • file organization
  • component structure
  • response patterns

Tooling can help automate this consistency.

Production Awareness​

Code should be written with production behavior in mind.

Developers should consider:

  • runtime cost
  • failure modes
  • observability
  • security implications
  • backward compatibility

Documentation Expectations​

Important logic should not remain purely implicit.

Critical systems such as pricing, routing, and compatibility should be documented sufficiently for future maintainers.

Long-Term Goal​

Coding standards exist to support sustainable engineering growth.

They become more important as the platform expands across:

  • more services
  • more integrations
  • more contributors
  • more production-critical workflows