From a56d7108ad78deb9af02222dec3117353a2e98e8 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Marcin Rataj <lidel@lidel.org>
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2019 14:59:17 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] Update CONTRIBUTING_JS.md

add section on error codes
Ref. https://github.com/ipfs/js-ipfs/pull/2547#discussion_r336466026
---
 CONTRIBUTING_JS.md | 20 ++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 20 insertions(+)

diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING_JS.md b/CONTRIBUTING_JS.md
index 63d96e0d..17a7b487 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING_JS.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING_JS.md
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ Our toolkit for each of these is not set in stone, and we don't plan to halt our
   - [Guidelines](#guidelines)
     - [Supported versions](#supported-versions)
     - [Linting & Code Style](#linting--code-style)
+    - [Error Codes](#error-codes)
     - [Dependency Versions](#dependency-versions)
     - [Testing](#testing)
     - [Releasing](#releasing)
@@ -100,6 +101,25 @@ However, we've added an extra linting rule: Enforce the use of [strict mode](htt
 
 Using [aegir-lint](#aegir) will help you do this easily; it automatically lints your code.
 
+#### Error Codes
+
+When introducing a new error code that may be useful outside of the current scope, make sure it is defined in a named variable and can be exported and used in other places. This enables others to reuse those definitions and decreases number of hardcoded values across our codebases. For example:
+
+```js
+const {  Errors } = require('interface-datastore')
+
+// throw predefined errors if possible
+if (!value) {
+  throw Errors.notFoundError()
+}
+
+// compare value from 
+const ERR_NOT_FOUND = Errors.notFoundError().code 
+if (err.code === ERR_NOT_FOUND) {
+  // handle
+}
+```
+
 #### Dependency Versions
 
 Our rule is: Use ~ for everything below 1.0.0 and ^ for everything above 1.0.0. If you find a package.json that is not following this rule, please submit a PR.