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22.03.2017tech

Good Software Development Principles

Maintainable Code

Good Code is its Own Best Documentation

When you build any software project, most of the time you wouldn’t be the only one touching the code.A software is never complete. There is always room for improvement or an upgrade. There would be anywhere between 2 and 12 other developers who wold eventually read and improve on the code you write. It is good to know the best practices of your language and code accordingly. This would allow less hassle for future developers and allow better improvement on the project.

Don’t Repeat Yourself (DRY)

The concept here is that anything you use in your code should have a single, unambiguous representation. This means if you are storing a number, only store it in a single place (don’t have PI stored in three different places). Not only is multiple storage wasteful, but it multiplies your effort if you want to change, especially if you have to go hunting through several files to find where the numbers are defined. Multiple representations are also a great way to generate bugs if you forget to change some of them. This also applies to code; don’t repeat chunks of code that do the same thing – have a single version and put it in a function.

The Right Tool for the Right Situation

You could hammer a screw in but I wouldn't think that'd be the best idea

A passionate software developer would often like to build something that is based off a technology they like or an algorithm they like. Cool as it is to build an application that uses the bleeding edge AI algorithms, it is important to understand that the different technologies, old and new, are tools to solve problems. There is a right tool for the right situation.

Soft Skills

Be a Consultant

Being a Software Developer/Engineer doesn’t mean that you’re just a code monkey coding what people tell you to. You have been studying it. You know what you’re doing. There might come a time where the client/product manager might think they know what they want but you think there is a better way to do this. Everyone wants the project to be successful. Make sure you speak up on your opinions and recommendations. They will appreciate it.

Keep It Simple

The simpler your code is, the easier it is to construct and maintain. So, subject to the constraints of our objectives, the simpler you can make your code the better. This has a connection to premature optimisation (see this post ), because optimised code tends to be less simple. We think a reasonable rule-of-thumb is that unless most simple way of doing something will be obviously too inefficient, it’s worth trying. you can always change it later and, because it’s simple code, this shouldn’t be too hard. One way to describe this is to paraphrase Albert Einstein: Code should be as simple as possible, but no simpler.

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