5 Tips and Tricks for Writing Clean Code

 Writing code is one thing, while writing clean code that is both readable and scalable is another. Anybody who has been writing code for a while knows what it feels like to write code, revisit it a few months later and struggle to understand your own logic. You look at a variable name and wonder what you were thinking coming up with it. Clean code is not about aesthetics but clarity. Clean code should be easy to read, easy to understand and easy to modify. This applies to whether you are working on a small project or collaborating with a team on a bigger more complex project. It makes your job far more stressful and drastically reduces the number of bugs you'd work on therefore saving you a lot of time. It is also important to note that most programmers don't work in isolation making it important for you to write something someone else can look at and read. Your teammates would thank you for that. It definitely builds productivity within development teams. If you are reading this and you are thinking you are doomed because your code looks messy you need not worry, writing clean code is a skill that can be learned. In this blog post we'll explore 5 tips and tricks for writing clean code.

1. Use descriptive names

Use descriptive and meaningful names for your variables, functions and classes. Although it may seem like a small issue, naming is one of the most important aspects of writing clean code. A great choice of names makes your code self-explanatory and easy to read for everyone including yourself. Your code should be able to tell a story through the names. When someone reads it they should be able to understand what it does. The chances that poor naming could lead to a misunderstanding which in turn leads to a bug are high. It is easy to assume an incorrect value to a variable when good names are not put to use. Poorly named variables put other developers in a situation where they have to dig through code to understand what is happening, leading to frustration and time-wastage. Descriptive names reduce the need for comments to be heavily used making code messy. If your program seems to heavily need comments it may probably because you didn't use names well.

Good naming conventions

a)Use full words not abbreviations

It could take a long time to understand what certain abbreviations mean. For example: usrnme instead of user_name

b)Be consistent with naming styles

There are several different naming styles when it comes to coding such as camelCase and PascalCase among others. When you decide to use one specific naming style, stick to it throughout the entire code. 

c)Use verbs to indicate a function or an action. 

Functions carry out an order so we should see the name describe the action being carried out. For example, instead of using userData, you could settle on getUserData.

2.Don't repeat yourself

This is often referred to as the 'DRY' principle. It means that every piece of logic of your code should exist in one place. When the same code appears severally in multiple places, it causes redundancy. It becomes harder to make small changes causing frustration. You fix a bug in one place and forget to fix it in another and suddenly there is inconsistency in your application. Repetition may seem like a fast solution in the beginning but in the long run it tends to cause issues such as:

a)Difficulty in maintainance - whenever changes have to be made, they have to be made in multiple places.

b)Higher chances of bugs - if you have to keep repeating code, there are chances that you could forget to repeat the same code in a different place and this could easily cause bugs that would be difficult to fix. It would be like walking through a maze.

c)Messiness - constantly repeting the same llines can make your codebase look untidy.

3.Comment thoughtfully

Well-written code is not supposed to be filled with numerous of comments that aren't useful. The lines of code should speak for themselves. Comments should not be explaining what the code is doing, it should instead explain why the code  is there. Comments act as guide for anybody reading your code. Months later when you struggle to understand why you made a certain call when it came to a specific line of code, the comments will be there to remind you. Well-written comments should provide clarity to non-obvious decisions. Whenever something is obvious, it would be best to avoid using comments. It leads to clutter. When code changes, it is important that the comments are updated otherwise it would cause confusion.

4.Stay updated with best practices

Programming languages, frameworks and standard practices keep evolving, so you to always stay updated on what is acceptable and what is outdated. What may have been encouraged a few years ago may no longer be encouraged today. Staying updated also ensures that your code fits seamlessly into modern workflows. As the tech industry develops, developers tend to figure out better ways of doing certain things. New tools, frameworks and libraries influences the way in which code is written.

5.Seek code reviews and feedback

No matter the experience you end up building as a programmer, fresh eyes will still catch something you completely missed. Other professionals looking at your work can reveal weaknesses you were not aware of and provide you with an opportunity to improve yourself. When you write code, you understand the logic you followed but putting it under the 'microscope'  for someone else may reveal that your logic isn't as obvious as it may look from your on end. Code reviews expose your code to different perspective you were previously not aware of. When specific questions are posed to you, you actually have to step aside and think about it. It also gives an opportunity to learn from experienced developers. They could give you the kind of advice that should only be locked away behind a paywall.