Rodin
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Patterns are prescriptive — follow them. Conventions are descriptive — study for ideas. Clarifies repo purpose, directory structure, and how to use patterns during development and review.
1.4 KiB
1.4 KiB
Elixir Patterns
Prescriptive. Follow these when writing Elixir code.
A pattern is a reusable solution to a recurring problem. Each one has:
- When to use — the problem it solves
- When NOT to use — where it causes harm
- Why — the reasoning, not just the rule
- Source citations — verified file:line from real codebases
These are derived from what mature Elixir codebases actually do, not opinions or blog posts.
Structure
patterns/— what to do (behaviours, GenServer, error handling, testing, typespecs, etc.)smells/— what NOT to do (anti-patterns, common mistakes)sources/— reference material from specific projects (Oban, elixir-lang). Study for ideas, don't copy blindly.
How to use
- Before writing code: check if a relevant pattern exists
- During review: verify code follows documented patterns
- If code deviates: either fix it or document why the deviation is justified
Patterns vs Conventions
Pattern = prescriptive. "When you face X, do Y." Language-scoped. Follow these.
Convention = descriptive. "Project Z does it this way." Context-specific. Study for ideas — applying another project's conventions to yours without understanding their constraints causes harm.
The sources/ directory is convention material absorbed from thin repos. The patterns/ directory is what you actually follow.