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What Does "Well Code Architecture" Actually Mean?

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Jay Tin
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2 min read

Table of contents

Constructing well-structured code architecture refers to organizing and designing the overall codebase of a software project in a way that promotes maintainability, readability, extensibility and collaboration.

It refers to the way of organization and design of the overall codebase or project which is easy to maintain, read, extend, scale, and most importantly collaborative.

Key Aspects

  • Modularization - Breaking down large codebases into smaller, loosely coupled modules with well-defined responsibilities and interfaces. This allows code to be reused and makes it easier to understand.

  • Separation of concerns - Keeping logically distinct functions/code separated, such as keeping UI code separate from business logic. This reduces complexity and dependencies.

  • Consistent conventions - Having team-wide conventions for naming, formatting, folder structure etc. This improves readability and findability.

  • Loose coupling - Reducing interdependencies between modules so they can be developed and updated independently.

  • Encapsulation - Only exposing what needs to be exposed from a module while keeping other implementation details hidden. This reduces complexity.

  • Use of design patterns - Leveraging proven design patterns like MVC, singleton, facade etc. appropriate for the application architecture.

  • Writing clean, readable code - Using descriptive names, proper indentation, comments etc. to make code as readable as possible.

  • Testability - Designing code in a way that makes it easy to test components independently.

Implement well-structured code architecture using Next.js, React and MongoDB:

  • Use a modular component-based structure for React code. Break down components into reusable, single-responsibility units.

  • Organize components into folders by features/pages.

  • For shared logic, utilize custom hooks instead of dumping everything into components. Keep custom hooks focused.

  • Manage state with React Context if needed for global state, otherwise try to keep state local.

  • For server-side code with Next.js, break code into modules/folders by concern - data layer, services layer, utils, etc.

  • Keep Next.js pages thin, mostly for UI. Extract data fetching into reusable services/hooks.

  • Interface with MongoDB using a data layer or repository pattern to abstract DB access.

  • Use Mongoose schemas and models to enforce structure in MongoDB.

  • Make DB queries in services, hook into these from UI components. Don't query DB directly from components.

  • Use Next.js API routes to expose backend APIs and keep them separated from pages.

  • Use Next.js middleware capabilities for shared logic across routes.

  • Use environment variables for configuration, don't hard code.

  • Write unit and integration tests for critical components and services.

  • Use TypeScript for static typing across the app.

  • Establish and enforce consistent conventions for naming, file structure, formatting etc.

  • Leverage linting to reinforce conventions.