📖 [Docs]: Coding standards put reuse before building (and .NET when you build)

[Marius Storhaug (MariusStorhaug)]

The coding standards now make the reuse decision explicit: before writing new logic, reach for what already exists — a language or runtime built-in, then an existing function, then a trusted dependency — and build it yourself only when nothing fits. The PowerShell idiom's ".NET" guidance is reframed to fit that order: .NET is what you reach for when you implement the work (or fix a slow internal function), not the first resort ahead of reusing a cmdlet or an existing function.

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Changed: reuse comes before building

src/docs/Coding-Standards/Functions.md gains a Reuse before you build section (language-agnostic — DRY and single responsibility applied across the whole codebase):

• Prefer a built-in.
• Reuse an existing function; if it is the weak link on a hot path, fix it there so every caller benefits.
• Take a dependency on a trusted module for a larger capability that already exists.
• Build it only when nothing fits — sized to the need (small logic inline, a larger capability as its own module).

Changed: PowerShell — reuse first, then reach for .NET

The "do the work in .NET" idiom in src/docs/Coding-Standards/PowerShell/index.md now leads with the reuse order (built-in cmdlet/operator → module function → #Requires / RequiredModules dependency → your own code) and links the baseline. The .NET specifics (hot-path calls, [void] / $null =, typed lists) remain for when you actually implement the work.

Technical Details

• Two files, docs-only; markdownlint, the link checker, and the doc-index check all pass locally.
• Companion change in the mirrored AI-Platform/ai-platform standards — https://dnb.ghe.com/AI-Platform/ai-platform/pull/325.

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Pull request overview

Updates the PowerShell coding standard to add an explicit, general “do the work in .NET” guideline, giving contributors a single, citable rule-of-thumb for choosing .NET APIs over cmdlet/pipeline usage on hot paths or where precision matters.

Changes:

• Adds a new “Do the work in .NET; use cmdlets to orchestrate it” bullet under Idioms and pitfalls.
• Frames the next two existing performance tips (avoid Out-Null, avoid += in loops) as specific applications of the new principle.

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