Cursor rule

1---
2alwaysApply: false
3---
4 
5# ASCII Diagram Standards
6 
7## MANDATORY: Use Basic ASCII Only
8 
9**CRITICAL**: ALWAYS use basic ASCII characters for diagrams (maximum compatibility).
10 
11### ✅ ALLOWED: `+` `-` `|` `^` `v` `<` `>` and alphanumeric text
12 
13### ❌ FORBIDDEN: Unicode box-drawing characters
14- NO: `┌` `─` `│` `└` `┐` `┘` `├` `┤` `┬` `┴` `┼` `▼` `▲` `►` `◄`
15- Reason: Inconsistent rendering across fonts/platforms
16 
17## Standard ASCII Diagram Patterns
18 
19### CRITICAL: Character Width Rule
20**Every line in a box MUST have EXACTLY the same character count (including spaces)**
21 
22✅ CORRECT (all lines = 67 chars):
23```
24+---------------------------------------------------------------+
25|                      Component Name                           |
26|  Description text here                                        |
27+---------------------------------------------------------------+
28```
29 
30❌ WRONG (inconsistent widths):
31```
32+---------------------------------------------------------------+
33|                      Component Name                           |
34|  Description text here                                   |
35+---------------------------------------------------------------+
36```
37 
38### Box Pattern
39```
40+-----------------------------------------------------+
41|                                                     |
42|              Calculator Application                 |
43|                                                     |
44|  Provides basic arithmetic operations for users     |
45|  through a web-based interface                      |
46|                                                     |
47+-----------------------------------------------------+
48```
49 
50### Nested Boxes
51```
52+-------------------------------------------------------+
53|              Web Server (PHP Runtime)                 |
54|  +-------------------------------------------------+  |
55|  |  index.php (Monolithic Application)             |  |
56|  |  +-------------------------------------------+  |  |
57|  |  |  HTML Template (View Layer)               |  |  |
58|  |  |  - Form rendering                         |  |  |
59|  |  |  - Result display                         |  |  |
60|  |  +-------------------------------------------+  |  |
61|  +-------------------------------------------------+  |
62+-------------------------------------------------------+
63```
64 
65### Arrows and Connections
66```
67+----------+
68|  Source  |
69+----------+
70     |
71     | HTTP POST
72     v
73+----------+
74|  Target  |
75+----------+
76```
77 
78### Horizontal Flow
79```
80+-------+     +-------+     +-------+
81| Step1 | --> | Step2 | --> | Step3 |
82+-------+     +-------+     +-------+
83```
84 
85### Vertical Flow with Labels
86```
87User Action Flow:
88    |
89    v
90+----------+
91|  Input   |
92+----------+
93    |
94    | validates
95    v
96+----------+
97| Process  |
98+----------+
99    |
100    | returns
101    v
102+----------+
103|  Output  |
104+----------+
105```
106 
107## Validation
108 
109Before creating diagrams:
110- [ ] Basic ASCII only: `+` `-` `|` `^` `v` `<` `>`
111- [ ] No Unicode box-drawing
112- [ ] Spaces (not tabs) for alignment
113- [ ] Corners use `+`
114- [ ] **ALL box lines same character width** (count characters including spaces)
115- [ ] Test: Verify corners align vertically in monospace font
116 
117## Alternative
118 
119For complex diagrams, use Mermaid (see `content-validation.md`)
120