Coding Standards: Become a Better Programmer
19 Sep 2023
What are Coding Standards?
When people think of coding standards, the first thing that comes to mind is typically the technical things like if you put spaces before and after a ‘=’ operator or whether you put your curly braces on a new line. While some might dismiss coding standards as minor details, I believe that coding standards are crucial in quality software engineering. In this essay, I will share my perspective on why coding standards contribute to better quality code and reflect on my experiences with ESLint and IntelliJ.
Become a Better Programmer
Applying structured coding standards in software development can enhance code quality by ensuring that programmers have a clear understanding of their code’s functionality. When developers thoroughly understand the purpose of each variable and its necessity within the program, it helps eliminate unnecessary elements that might otherwise consume excessive data memory. In turn, incorporating a framework into programming can benefit software developers by encouraging a deeper comprehension of their code and promoting improved organization.
Improved Code Readability and Maintainability
Coding standards ensure that code is consistently structured. This consistency greatly improves code readability by defining a consistent framework of organization. When programmers employ a formatted coding style, it becomes easier for teams to understand and maintain each other’s code, reducing errors and leading to more efficient collaboration.
As software projects evolve over time, code must be constantly modified and updated. Coding standards make it easier to maintain codebases by promoting organization, which makes it easier to identify which specific components must be modified without breaking other parts of the code. When combined with well-written and coherent documentation, coding standards enhance the code’s clarity so software developers can update a program without spending extensive time becoming reacquainted with the codebase.
Learn a New Programming Language
Coding standards can also help in learning new programming languages. Consistently formatted code is easier to read and comprehend, making it especially helpful to focus on major concepts like the language’s syntax and unique features, without being distracted by unfamiliar coding styles.
My Experience with ESLint
After a week of adjusting to a new coding standard with ESLint, I have found the experience to be both rewarding and frustrating. ESLint is a tool that helps enforce coding standards by identifying violations in real time and underlining them so that programmers can adjust their code.
Love-Hate Relationship
ESLint can be challenging when initially adjusting to it because of how quickly it detects code that deviates from its standards. As you’re writing code, ESLint will swiftly warn its users about unused functions and variables, even if you’re still in the process of writing them and haven’t reached the testing phase. But then again, those warnings are exactly what the tool is designed for: to diligently warn users when their code is out of standard. So, I guess my frustration is more evidence of how effectively it fulfills its intended role.
In the Long Run…
Despite occasional frustrations, I know that incorporating a coding standard through ESLint ultimately benefits my code in the broader context. As mentioned earlier, coding standards contribute to a deeper understanding of my code’s functionality and readability, all of which are characteristics of higher-quality code.
I aspire to improve as a programmer and produce high-quality, easily comprehensible code for both myself and others. Therefore, adopting a consistent coding style is just one of the essential aspects I must practice in my programming routine to achieve this goal.