How should I organize programming files into directories?

Question

Sometimes, one creates a exploratory prototype and forgets about structure in the directories...

What are good tips on dividing the programming files over (several levels of) directories?

Answer 1

If your language is OOP and package based (Eg Java), then you should probably keep each package in its own folder (eg my/package/name) to keep with the convention.

If your language isn't package based (Eg PHP), then organize by what each file does. Here's an example

• Does this do utility functions? Goes in /util
• Is this a 3rd party plugin? Goes in /plugin
• Is this part of the admin panel? Goes in /admin, along with ALL supporting files
• Is this Javascript? Goes in /javascript
• Is this CSS? Goes in /css
• Is this a template? Goes in /templates/templateName
• etc

Language agnostic, Most people have a /src directory for all source files, a /lib directory for libraries, and a /bin or /dist directory for builds.