Ever struggle to read another developer’s code? Code should be easy to follow along with, especially for a reader entirely new to the codebase. However, sometimes developers write “spaghetti code”, with random variables or methods mixed together in a non-understandable manner.
Gary Espinosa of Reflectoring.io believes that clean code is the best code, and it’s super important for companies and coworkers. He lists suggestions such as variable names being descriptive, methods shortened, code broken up, etc. Let’s dive into what he suggests.
Espinosa discusses the huge importance of clean code, and how it can make or break a codebase. Not only is code the flesh and blood of a program, but it is also a form of communication between collaborating developers. It helps enable easy understanding of code and editability without errors. Companies who need to ensure their code is clean often spend time and resources just making it easy to comprehend.
Clean code should be readable; this involves grouping similar functions and classes together, similar variables, etc. The document should flow like an “engaging narrative from top to bottom” (Espinosa). If possible, one idea per line and one action per statement is key.
You should also be able to keep your code consistent. There must be a standard for writing code, variables, and methods. Examples of this would be using camelCase for all your variable and method names, using specific indentation rules, and more. A unifying language reduces differences.
One should strive for simplicity, but with descriptive language as well. Variables, methods, and classes should have meaningful names that describe the point of themselves easily. For example, you shouldn’t use a name like “x1” or “yY” as they don’t provide the reader any insight as to what they’re for.
I selected this resource because it lines up with what we’re currently learning, and it is a key importance to being a software developer in the industry. If you want to have your pull requests approved, write clean, understandable code. This topic intrigued me because it’s quite simple but I wasn’t sure if there were any specific industry standards for clean code. There are definitely certain uniforms industry-wide, but I’m sure that it depends from company to company.
Espinosa’s article was informative, and explained what’s important and why about clean code. It’s useful to those new to programming, or those who are experienced in coding but just entering the professional industry.
I learned how important clean code actually is, not only to the programmer but to their coworkers and the company as a whole. Alongside this, the article taught me how to effectively organize and write code in a clean and understandable manner. This led to an increase in my confidence in my ability to clean up my code. I want to apply this knowledge to my future jobs and perhaps go back and clean up my old projects to make them easier to comprehend.
Article: https://reflectoring.io/clean-code/
From the blog CS@Worcester – Josh's Coding Journey by joshuafife and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.