4 Practical Tips to Write Better Code

Inadequate naming, excessively big functions, poor architectural choices, and duplicate code. These are just a few of the common errors any developer is likely to encounter while developing software. Most software engineers readily identify such issues when they come across code written by others. However, acknowledging that they themselves make similar mistakes can be more challenging.

Nevertheless, for those aiming to produce superior software, acknowledging that they frequently produce less than optimal code is essential. It can even happen to engineers with the best intentions since tight deadlines or rushed projects might force them to only accomplish the minimum necessary.

This issue impacts everyone involved. The end-users may experience a flawed product and the clients don’t receive the best possible software. Moreover, surprisingly, it also influence the developers. The consequences extend to challenges in implementing changes, introducing new features or even carrying out routine maintenance. Indeed, these should serve as convincing reasons for developers to write code of higher quality. If you want to write better code, this article is for you. In this article, we’ll explore tips for developers to write better code.

Maintain Readability

Certainly evident, right? Every software engineer recognizes the importance of code readability, especially in today’s collaborative development scenarios. Even when working on a solo project, maintaining readable code is crucial for your own benefit. Why? Because readability leads to a deeper understanding of your code, making support and maintainability easier. While it’s not the sole factor for understanding your code, if it lacks readability, other aspects become practically useless.

Fortunately, there are straightforward steps to enhance code readability. For instance, using meaningful names for variables and classes is a good starting point. By doing that, developers could ensure clarity at the first glance. Implementing short functions, guided by the principle of performing a single task, significantly improves code readability.

Various tips can contribute to better readability and you might have your own. Regardless, remember never to compromise readability as reading code consumes more time than writing it, as you likely already know.

Giving Preference to Code Commenting

As mentioned earlier, it’s worth emphasizing that making your code readable doesn’t automatically guarantee it’s understandable. While readability is essential for better comprehension, there’s a risk of overemphasizing it and misinterpreting your own work.

For instance, certain names or the use of concise coding techniques may be misleading or assume a certain level of knowledge from the reader. To mitigate this, incorporating comments is a valuable practice. While writing comments might not be the most time-efficient for many developers, it supports your colleagues (or your future self) during code reviews.

Code commenting is beneficial as it elucidates how your software functions and the intentions behind your coding decisions. This proves invaluable during the maintenance phase, facilitating a better understanding of each code line and uncovering pathways to new features or improvements.

Avoiding Duplicate Code

You might argue, “Hold on a moment—everyone duplicates code. It saves time and effort!” While that observation is valid, the widespread practice of code duplication is not considered good. In reality, reusing lines or blocks of code can create more problems than it solves.

Primarily, code duplication can increase the size of software, causing delays and elevated space requirements during real-time execution by users. Even if these delays are minimal or the space impact is modest, resolving these issues can lead to a more superior application.

Additionally, code duplication incurs technical debt. When introducing new features, making changes, or maintaining the software, this technical debt becomes evident, necessitating time to simplify or eliminate duplicated code for overall improvement.

Moreover, duplicating code introduces bugs and heightens security risks. Replicating any minor bug present in the original code leads to solving multiple instances of code duplication later. In terms of security, duplicated code from elsewhere may have undisclosed vulnerabilities, exposing the software to unnecessary risks.

However, there’s a straightforward solution to mitigate the downsides of code duplication. By combining the code into its own function or class and calling them from all relevant places, you can address this common problem while avoiding associated issues.

Learning to Write Test

Many software engineers react with reluctance when asked to test their code. Why? Because most developers dislike testing and many lack the knowledge of how to write tests, making it even more challenging. Since testing is a crucial development phase, it cannot be ignored.

While you might suggest hiring a tester or outsourcing testing to a QA assurance team, this doesn’t contribute to improving your code-writing skills. To write better code, you need to understand how to write and execute tests. Why is that important? Knowing this enables you to create code that facilitates the work of testers, ultimately resulting in a superior product.

Learning how to write tests makes your code more testable. This means someone can programmatically and granularly verify your code, making it easier for testers to assess small units of code and their behavior. Essentially, writing more testable code involves simplifying the number of code paths, making them easier to test.

Conclusion

n conclusion, mastering the art of writing better code is an ongoing journey that demands attention to detail and a commitment to continuous improvement. By prioritizing readability, avoiding common pitfalls such as code duplication and embracing the importance of testing, developers can elevate the quality of their code. These tips not only contribute to more efficient collaboration in team projects but also enhance individual coding proficiency.

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