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iOS Codebase Organization

1 post · May 2020

What this trail covers

This thread tracks the evolution of Slack's iOS codebase organization. Initial posts detailed the challenges of a chaotic file hierarchy, lack of architecture patterns, and difficulty for new developers. This post details the first stage of organizing the codebase by moving high-level directories and then tackling source file organization into a Feature/Topic/MVVM+C pattern. It also covers the implementation of tooling like Danger rules to enforce new conventions and the ongoing efforts in folder housekeeping.

All Slack trails
  1. Happiness is… a freshly organized codebaseThis post details the first stage of organizing the Slack iOS codebase. It describes the problem of a chaotic file hierarchy with ~13,000 files and ~27 top-level directories, leading to developer frustration. The solution involved two stages: first, organizing high-level directories (main target, extension, frameworks), and second, tackling source file organization within App/Source. A Feature/Topic/MVVM+C pattern was adopted for the latter. Tooling was introduced, including Danger rules to prevent new files from being added to old directories and to enforce co-located tests. The post also outlines ongoing 'folder housekeeping' rules and the creation of a dedicated Slack channel for questions.