Apply before writing logic: choosing core types and data structures, sequencing scaffold-vs-feature work, asking what concurrent actors share. Get the data structures right so downstream code becomes obvious.
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What the file says
# Foundational Thinking
**Structural decisions** protect option value. **Code-level decisions** protect simplicity. Over-engineering is often a premature decision that closes doors. The right foundational data structure keeps doors open.
**Data structures first.** Get the data shape right before writing logic. The right shape makes downstream code obvious. Define core types early, trace every access pattern, and choose structures that match the dominant paths. A data-structure change late is a rewrite. Early, it is often a one-line diff.
At code level, DRY the structure, not every line. Types and data models should converge. Three similar statements still beat a premature abstraction. Prefer explicit over clever. Test behavior and edge cases, not line counts.
**Concurrency corollary.** Before sharing state between actors, ask "what happens if another actor modifies this concurrently?" If not "nothing", isolate.
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The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260827.04830a9, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_y5dbvat4mlaxkvo4
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=painhardcore/pstack/principle-foundational-thinking
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/64aec61f4d1f9f977662b3b90abac09865eaa1f80ee61da85c15adaa8dc84ae0
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