In today’s digital age, software forms the backbone of many everyday items, ranging from televisions to washing machines. Creating this software requires a huge amount of code, and it is the responsibility of software engineers to ensure that this code is well-written and follows clean coding techniques. To support this endeavour, Robert Cecil Martin’s book “Clean Code” is an invaluable source of knowledge for any programmer wanting to pursue a career in software engineering. This article draws upon Uncle Bob’s work for a deeper understanding of the importance of clean coding techniques.
Clean code is applicable to all programming languages; in this article, we have used the Go programming language to illustrate its potential. If you feel more comfortable using Java, please refer to the examples given in the accompanying book.
Let’s begin!
// Commentaries
Comments are an essential tool for software development, providing a valuable explanation of code that can be difficult to decipher without an explanatory note. They can be immensely helpful when debugging and analysing code, troubleshooting issues, and creating documentation, particularly when a new team takes over a project and needs to familiarise themselves with existing code. Furthermore, comments serve to ensure that the code remains understandable even when the original author is no longer present.
A good guideline to remember is that a remark should only exist if it is useful.
You should also use caution while writing remarks. Some examples of inappropriate statements include:
Non-sense commentaries
It is essential that the author information, creation, and update dates are managed by the version control system, rather than embedded within the code itself. Failing to adhere to this will result in increased instances of redundant code within the application, which can lead to a range of subsequent issues.
Outdated comments
The problem is that your remark will become obsolete at some point so make sure to avoid misleading comments.
Commentaries that are poorly worded and redundant:
It is not necessary to include comments in code that is clear and straightforward, as this can add superfluous lines and consume time and effort for developers to identify and read information that is not useful.
Before putting down any remarks, it is essential to consider whether they are essential for the task at hand. If they are, ensure that the remarks are stated in the clearest and most straightforward manner. This will help ensure that the remark is beneficial and does not lead to any confusion.
Commented Code
Sometimes we add a full block of code as a remark with the intention of using it later.
However, these commented codes are almost never utilised. As a result, it’s advisable to avoid making statements like that.
Consider this: If that bit of code was so critical, it wouldn’t be a comment, would it?
Names
In order to ensure that our code is both clean and understandable, it is essential to assign meaningful and descriptive names to variables, functions, classes, interfaces, and so on. The name of a function, class, or variable should be indicative of its purpose and value within the code. To put it succinctly, investing in high-quality names is a surefire way to improve the overall quality of our code.
Meaningful Names
Meaningful names make the code more accessible, intelligible, and aesthetically pleasing.
Project Patterns
Adhering to a pre-established project convention when selecting names for components is an intelligent choice. For instance, if your code contains a method that interacts with a user object, using a name like ‘GetMemberName’ instead of ‘GetUserName’ can lead to confusion among readers. It is therefore essential to exercise caution when naming the components of your code.
Unclear Names
In order to ensure that code is easily understandable, it is recommended to choose variable and function names that accurately describe their purpose. Longer and more descriptive names are preferable to shorter and less detailed ones. This practice helps to increase the readability and clarity of the code.
Effect Names
Names should properly explain the element’s behaviour and purpose.
Functions
Functionality is of paramount importance in the world of programming, which is why functional programming languages such as Elixir, Scala, Kotlin, Swift, Haskell, Golang, and others have adopted the use of functions as a core part of their structure.
Almost all coders are aware of the basics of functions. However, here are a few pointers that can assist in creating functions that are more efficient and organised:
Short
Have you ever come across a function that has hundreds of thousands of lines?
It is strongly recommended that a function should be concise and clear so that its purpose can be understood quickly. However, there is no set rule regarding the length of a function; however, if a function consists of more than twenty lines of code, it may be beneficial to rewrite it into a smaller and more succinct version.
Avoiding logic in if, else, and while indentations are one practical method to shorten your routines.
It is important to take note of the order of the functions when writing code. The reader should be able to quickly understand the code, as if they were reading a diary or a novel. Therefore, it is best to keep the code readable by writing it from top to bottom.
Single Responsibility
The Single-Responsibility Principle (SRP) is an essential concept in object-oriented programming. It is the first of the SOLID principles, which states that every function should have a specific, well-defined purpose that it is responsible for carrying out. This principle promotes code re-usability and maintainability, as it helps ensure that code is concise and organised.
Parameters
A function with several parameters is difficult to comprehend.
These functions make the code review process time-consuming and unorganised.
To avoid this, make sure you utilise a small number of arguments that clearly indicate the function’s aim.
Remember to apply the same logic to return arguments.
Having a codebase that is clean and organised has numerous benefits. To begin with, it simplifies the process of code review, allowing colleagues to quickly comprehend the code, data flow, and logic. Moreover, it makes it easy for new team members to understand the existing codebase, thus expediting the onboarding process. On the other hand, it can take a developer a long time to add a feature or resolve an issue in a messy codebase. Clean coding, however, reduces the time taken to perform such tasks, thereby saving time, money, and resources in your search for a remote software development job.
Have fun coding!
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