Introduction
Writing code that is scalable, effective, and clean is what every developer aspires to.
In this article, I’ll explore 10 underrated programming practices that can elevate your work, whether you’re debugging, scaling, or deploying.
Whether you're debugging, growing, or delivering, these ten underappreciated programming techniques can improve your work.
Let's find the treasures you could be overlooking!
1. Defensive Programming: Build Resilient Code
Source: "Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship" by Robert C. Martin
The goal of defensive programming is to write code that is ready for any eventuality. You may avoid crashes and make sure your program acts consistently by foreseeing edge circumstances and incorrect inputs.
i. Quick Tip: Always validate and sanitize all inputs—no matter the source.
ii. Why It’s Overlooked: It feels unnecessary until something breaks spectacularly.
2. Comments That Explain the ‘Why’
When reviewing old code or onboarding team members, well-written comments are invaluable. According to The Art of Readable Code by Dustin Boswell and Trevor Foucher, the key to effective commenting is to explain why a decision was made, not just what the code does.
i.Example:
ii.Pro Tip: Keep your comments up-to-date during refactoring.
3. Feature Toggles for Safer Releases
According to Jez Humble and David Farley's Continuous Delivery, feature toggles help you safely roll out unfinished features by turning them on only when they're ready. This helps with A/B testing and lowers risk during releases.
i. Tool Spotlight: Check out LaunchDarkly for managing feature flags at scale.
**ii. Real-Life Example: **Use toggles to deploy a beta feature to 5% of users before a full rollout.
4. Event-Driven Architecture: Think Beyond Requests
Event-driven systems enhance scalability and responsiveness, as Martin Kleppmann emphasizes in Designing Data-Intensive Applications. For asynchronous workflows, decoupling services, and real-time changes, this architectural approach is advantageous.
i. When to Use: Real-time updates, asynchronous workflows, or decoupling services.
ii. Why It’s Ignored: Often assumed to be “too complex” for smaller projects.
5. Test for Edge Cases, Not Just Happy Paths
Writing tests for situations that function as intended is simple, as Andrew Hunt and David Thomas show in The Pragmatic Programmer. Getting ready for what could break is the true challenge.
i. Quick Tip: Think of extreme inputs, invalid states, and concurrency issues.
ii. Tool to Try: Fuzz testing generates random inputs to simulate edge cases.
6. Refactor for Scalability
Refactoring is about designing for growth, not just about writing cleaner code. Martin Fowler's book Refactoring: Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code highlights the need of writing code that can grow with your application's requirements.
i. Quick Insight: Break monoliths into modular components to handle increasing demand.
ii. Why It’s Ignored: Often dismissed during early-stage development.
7. Optimize Queries Before Scaling Infrastructure
Make sure your database queries are optimized before adding more resources to a sluggish system. Markus Winand's SQL Performance Explained demonstrates how effective queries enhance performance and save costs.
i. Pro Tip: Identify and index slow-running queries.
ii. Example: A well-placed composite index can reduce query time from seconds to milliseconds.
8. Dependency Injection: Build Modular, Testable Code
Dependency Injection (DI) allows you to develop loosely connected, modular programs by separating concerns. Mark Seemann's Dependency Injection in.NET describes how DI is very useful for testing and scaling.
Why Use It? **Easily mock dependencies during unit testing.
**Example: Replace hard-coded API keys with a configuration service.
9. Automate Code Reviews and Formatting
You can concentrate on real code improvements by having automation handle the little things. Automating formatting and basic checks with programs like Prettier, ESLint, and Black speeds up the review process and guarantees consistency, claims David West's The Code Review Handbook.
i. Recommended Tools: Prettier for formatting, ESLint for JavaScript linting, and Black for Python.
ii. Bonus: Consistent code style reduces friction during collaboration.
10. Progressive Optimization
Optimizing too soon can waste resources. Martin L. Abbott and Michael T. Fisher's book The Art of Scalability suggests profiling your application to find and address the most important bottlenecks first.
i. Tools to Try: Use Chrome DevTools or New Relic to monitor performance in real-time.
ii. Why It Works: Focused effort leads to measurable improvements.
Conclusion: Start Small, Scale Big
Mastering the fundamentals and using them consistently is what makes great programming, not sophisticated techniques. These ten techniques may appear insignificant, yet they have the power to completely transform your development process.
Try one now, and report back to me on how it alters your workflow. Do you have a secret treasure? Let's learn together by sharing it in the comments section!
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About the Author
Favour is an enthusiastic software developer and tech enthusiast that is committed to providing developers with useful information and creative approaches.
Fave specializes in producing material that connects technical know-how with real-world application, with a particular emphasis on demythologizing intricate ideas. Fave is researching cutting-edge technology to support developers in a constantly changing digital market when she isn't writing or coding.
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