> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://hanfak.gitbook.io/workspace/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://hanfak.gitbook.io/workspace/general-paradigms/conventions.md).

# Conventions

* Conventions are stylistic guidelines for structuring your code, naming files, classes and methods, or otherwise altering your software solution at a cosmetic level
* They differ from patterns/principles/practices in that changes in convention may or may not result in changes to the actual compiled code when you build your solution
* it is worth having clearly defined coding conventions which are agreed upon by everyone on your team
* When it comes to the application of conventions, consistency is key. Having consistent conventions makes your code more readable and thus more maintainable
  * It also makes it easier to merge your code into source control and handle the inevitable merge conflicts that arise when working on larger teams.
* conventions may have an actual impact on configuration or behavior of production code when using certain tools.
* Conventions come and go in and out of vogue much more frequently than patterns/practices/principles
* If you ever have any doubt about whether a certain convention is beneficial, emulate the pros.
  * Check the libraries in the lnaguage or popular open source projects
* Conventions are important because they make your code base much more readable and give the source code a cohesive, professional appearance