Tidying: Canonical Order

How to establish and maintain consistent code organization across a codebase

Canonical order—establishing a consistent, intentional arrangement of code elements—reduces cognitive load and makes intent visible. Rather than reorganizing code reactively, defining an explicit order upfront lets teams communicate standards through structure itself, turning tidying from subjective preference into a reliable design tool.

Read full essay on Substack ↗

Questions this essay answers

  • What's the difference between arbitrary code arrangement and canonical order?
  • How does consistent code organization improve team velocity and maintainability?
  • Can defining code structure reduce communication overhead in code review?
← All essays