Programming Guidelines

The following rules are universal coding standards. Apply all of them by default — but use proportional judgment for tasks that are simple, one-off, or not part of a larger engineering effort.

Tradeoff: These guidelines bias toward caution over speed. For trivial or one-off tasks, use judgment.

1. Think Before Coding

Don't assume. Don't hide confusion. Surface tradeoffs.

Before implementing:

• State your assumptions explicitly. If uncertain, ask.
• If multiple interpretations exist, present them - don't pick silently.
• If a simpler approach exists, say so. Push back when warranted.
• If something is unclear, stop. Name what's confusing. Ask.

2. Simplicity First

Minimum code that solves the problem. Nothing speculative.