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This is a web application written using the Phoenix web framework.

Project guidelines

  • Use mix precommit alias when you are done with all changes and fix any pending issues
  • Use the already included and available :req (Req) library for HTTP requests, avoid :httpoison, :tesla, and :httpc. Req is included by default and is the preferred HTTP client for Phoenix apps

Phoenix v1.8 guidelines

  • Always begin your LiveView templates with <Layouts.app flash={@flash} ...> which wraps all inner content
  • The MyAppWeb.Layouts module is aliased in the my_app_web.ex file, so you can use it without needing to alias it again
  • Anytime you run into errors with no current_scope assign:
    • You failed to follow the Authenticated Routes guidelines, or you failed to pass current_scope to <Layouts.app>
    • Always fix the current_scope error by moving your routes to the proper live_session and ensure you pass current_scope as needed
  • Phoenix v1.8 moved the <.flash_group> component to the Layouts module. You are forbidden from calling <.flash_group> outside of the layouts.ex module
  • Out of the box, core_components.ex imports an <.icon name="hero-x-mark" class="w-5 h-5"/> component for for hero icons. Always use the <.icon> component for icons, never use Heroicons modules or similar
  • Always use the imported <.input> component for form inputs from core_components.ex when available. <.input> is imported and using it will will save steps and prevent errors
  • If you override the default input classes (<.input class="myclass px-2 py-1 rounded-lg">)) class with your own values, no default classes are inherited, so your custom classes must fully style the input

Authentication

  • Always handle authentication flow at the router level with proper redirects
  • Always be mindful of where to place routes. phx.gen.auth creates multiple router plugs:
    • A plug :fetch_current_user that is included in the default browser pipeline
    • A plug :require_authenticated_user that redirects to the log in page when the user is not authenticated
    • In both cases, a @current_scope is assigned to the Plug connection
    • A plug redirect_if_user_is_authenticated that redirects to a default path in case the user is authenticated - useful for a registration page that should only be shown to unauthenticated users
  • Always let the user know in which router scopes and pipeline you are placing the route, AND SAY WHY
  • phx.gen.auth assigns the current_scope assign - it does not assign a current_user assign.
  • To derive/access current_user, always use the current_scope.user assign, never use @current_user in templates
  • Anytime you hit current_scope errors or the logged in session isn't displaying the right content, always double check the router and ensure you are using the correct plug as described below

Routes that require authentication

Controller routes must be placed in a scope that sets the :require_authenticated_user plug:

scope "/", AppWeb do
  pipe_through [:browser, :require_authenticated_user]

  get "/", MyControllerThatRequiresAuth, :index
end

Routes that work with or without authentication

Controllers automatically have the current_scope available if they use the :browser pipeline.

Elixir guidelines

  • Elixir lists do not support index based access via the access syntax

    Never do this (invalid):

    i = 0
mylist = ["blue", "green"]
mylist[i]

    Instead, always use Enum.at, pattern matching, or List for index based list access, ie:

    i = 0
mylist = ["blue", "green"]
Enum.at(mylist, i)

  • Elixir variables are immutable, but can be rebound, so for block expressions like if, case, cond, etc you must bind the result of the expression to a variable if you want to use it and you CANNOT rebind the result inside the expression, ie:

    # INVALID: we are rebinding inside the `if` and the result never gets assigned
if connected?(socket) do
  socket = assign(socket, :val, val)
end

# VALID: we rebind the result of the `if` to a new variable
socket =
  if connected?(socket) do
    assign(socket, :val, val)
  end

  • Never nest multiple modules in the same file as it can cause cyclic dependencies and compilation errors

  • Never use map access syntax (changeset[:field]) on structs as they do not implement the Access behaviour by default. For regular structs, you must access the fields directly, such as my_struct.field or use higher level APIs that are available on the struct if they exist, Ecto.Changeset.get_field/2 for changesets

  • Elixir's standard library has everything necessary for date and time manipulation. Familiarize yourself with the common Time, Date, DateTime, and Calendar interfaces by accessing their documentation as necessary. Never install additional dependencies unless asked or for date/time parsing (which you can use the date_time_parser package)

  • Don't use String.to_atom/1 on user input (memory leak risk)

  • Predicate function names should not start with is_ and should end in a question mark. Names like is_thing should be reserved for guards

  • Elixir's builtin OTP primitives like DynamicSupervisor and Registry, require names in the child spec, such as {DynamicSupervisor, name: MyApp.MyDynamicSup}, then you can use DynamicSupervisor.start_child(MyApp.MyDynamicSup, child_spec)

  • Use Task.async_stream(collection, callback, options) for concurrent enumeration with back-pressure. The majority of times you will want to pass timeout: :infinity as option

Mix guidelines

  • Read the docs and options before using tasks (by using mix help task_name)
  • To debug test failures, run tests in a specific file with mix test test/my_test.exs or run all previously failed tests with mix test --failed
  • mix deps.clean --all is almost never needed. Avoid using it unless you have good reason

Phoenix guidelines

  • Remember Phoenix router scope blocks include an optional alias which is prefixed for all routes within the scope. Always be mindful of this when creating routes within a scope to avoid duplicate module prefixes.

  • You never need to create your own alias for route definitions! The scope provides the alias, ie:

    scope "/admin", AppWeb.Admin do
  pipe_through :browser

  live "/users", UserLive, :index
end

    the UserLive route would point to the AppWeb.Admin.UserLive module

  • Phoenix.View no longer is needed or included with Phoenix, don't use it

Ecto Guidelines

  • Always preload Ecto associations in queries when they'll be accessed in templates, ie a message that needs to reference the message.user.email
  • Remember import Ecto.Query and other supporting modules when you write seeds.exs
  • Ecto.Schema fields always use the :string type, even for :text, columns, ie: field :name, :string
  • Ecto.Changeset.validate_number/2 DOES NOT SUPPORT the :allow_nil option. By default, Ecto validations only run if a change for the given field exists and the change value is not nil, so such as option is never needed
  • You must use Ecto.Changeset.get_field(changeset, :field) to access changeset fields
  • Fields which are set programatically, such as user_id, must not be listed in cast calls or similar for security purposes. Instead they must be explicitly set when creating the struct

Phoenix HTML guidelines

  • Phoenix templates always use ~H or .html.heex files (known as HEEx), never use ~E

  • Always use the imported Phoenix.Component.form/1 and Phoenix.Component.inputs_for/1 function to build forms. Never use Phoenix.HTML.form_for or Phoenix.HTML.inputs_for as they are outdated

  • When building forms always use the already imported Phoenix.Component.to_form/2 (assign(socket, form: to_form(...)) and <.form for={@form} id="msg-form">), then access those forms in the template via @form[:field]

  • Always add unique DOM IDs to key elements (like forms, buttons, etc) when writing templates, these IDs can later be used in tests (<.form for={@form} id="product-form">)

  • For "app wide" template imports, you can import/alias into the my_app_web.ex's html_helpers block, so they will be available to all LiveViews, LiveComponent's, and all modules that do use MyAppWeb, :html (replace "my_app" by the actual app name)

  • Elixir supports if/else but **does NOT support if/else if or if/elsif. Never use else if or elseif in Elixir, always use cond or case for multiple conditionals.

    Never do this (invalid):

    <%= if condition do %>
  ...
<% else if other_condition %>
  ...
<% end %>

    Instead always do this:

    <%= cond do %>
  <% condition -> %>
    ...
  <% condition2 -> %>
    ...
  <% true -> %>
    ...
<% end %>

  • HEEx require special tag annotation if you want to insert literal curly's like { or }. If you want to show a textual code snippet on the page in a <pre> or <code> block you must annotate the parent tag with phx-no-curly-interpolation:

    <code phx-no-curly-interpolation>
  let obj = {key: "val"}
</code>

    Within phx-no-curly-interpolation annotated tags, you can use { and } without escaping them, and dynamic Elixir expressions can still be used with <%= ... %> syntax

  • HEEx class attrs support lists, but you must always use list [...] syntax. You can use the class list syntax to conditionally add classes, always do this for multiple class values:

    <a class={[
  "px-2 text-white",
  @some_flag && "py-5",
  if(@other_condition, do: "border-red-500", else: "border-blue-100"),
  ...
]}>Text</a>

    and always wrap if's inside {...} expressions with parens, like done above (if(@other_condition, do: "...", else: "..."))

    and never do this, since it's invalid (note the missing [ and ]):

    <a class={
  "px-2 text-white",
  @some_flag && "py-5"
}> ...
=> Raises compile syntax error on invalid HEEx attr syntax

  • Never use <% Enum.each %> or non-for comprehensions for generating template content, instead always use <%= for item <- @collection do %>

  • HEEx HTML comments use <%!-- comment --%>. Always use the HEEx HTML comment syntax for template comments (<%!-- comment --%>)

  • HEEx allows interpolation via {...} and <%= ... %>, but the <%= %> only works within tag bodies. Always use the {...} syntax for interpolation within tag attributes, and for interpolation of values within tag bodies. Always interpolate block constructs (if, cond, case, for) within tag bodies using <%= ... %>.

    Always do this:

    <div id={@id}>
  {@my_assign}
  <%= if @some_block_condition do %>
    {@another_assign}
  <% end %>
</div>

    and Never do this – the program will terminate with a syntax error:

    <%!-- THIS IS INVALID NEVER EVER DO THIS --%>
<div id="<%= @invalid_interpolation %>">
  {if @invalid_block_construct do}
  {end}
</div>