React clean code: Ways to write better, more efficient, and cleaner code

Introduction

Writing clean code is one of the most important things in software development in general. Most big companies always try to ensure that the code written for their software is cleaner and performant so that they can easily manage it later. Clean code is very important even if you’re an independent developer because most of the time you will need to refactor that code or add new features to it.

What Is A Clean Code

• Clean Code is a consistent style of programming that makes your code easier to write, read, and maintain. Anyone can write code that a computer can understand but good developers write clean code – code that humans can understand.
• Clean code is a reader-focused development style that improves our software quality and maintainability.
• Clean code involves writing codes with clear and simple design patterns that make it easy for humans to read, test and maintain. Consequently, clean code can lower the cost of software development. And this is because the principles involved in writing clean code eliminate technical debts.
• Clean code is about recognizing that your audience isn't just a computer, it's real-live humans!

Benefits Of A Clean Code

1. It's foundational

Clean code principles lead to source code that's highly modular and thus easier to read and test. If you think of these practices as part of a house, clean code is the foundation. Implementing clean code principles is a foundational skill that pays off especially well when it's time to refactor code or bring code under test.
There are three core principles to remember when it comes to writing clean code:

• Choose the right tool for the job
• Optimize the signal-to-noise ratio
• Strive to write self-documenting code

2. Reading is hard
Let’s call it how it is: Writing code is relatively easy. Reading is hard. This is why it is so tempting to rewrite rather than do the hard work of reading and comprehending existing code. Since reading code is naturally challenging, if you write code that you're barely able to follow as you write it, you'll find you're unable to comprehend it all later.

3. Technical debt is depressing
Writing sloppy or confusing code injects technical debt into projects. And while technical debt can be useful when carefully considered in context, excessive technical debt is depressing. You’ll likely derive more job satisfaction out of the quality of your work than the quantity. History has shown it's unlikely you'll find time to clean it up later, so why not do it right the first time?

4. No one wants to be a verb
Okay, the other reasons are solid, but this one is the clincher: Everyone knows the previous co-worker whose name became a verb to describe dirty code.
"Oh man, this code has been Jimmy'd."
Ouch. Comments like this are the kiss of death for long-term employment prospects. We want our coworkers to recommend and hire us in future positions, right? Being known for writing clean code is a great way to assure your co-workers recommend you and look forward to working with both you and your code in the future.

How You Can Start Writing Cleaner Code Today?

Now that we’ve covered the importance of a clean code, let’s get down to the practice of it. Here are a few ways you can ensure your code comes out clean.

1. Conventions
Using a naming convention is a great way to get started - it keeps things clear and lets you know exactly what you’re working with.
A naming convention basically means you decide you’ll call your variables by names that adhere to a certain set of rules. It can get hairy, and a lot of people don’t always agree on which is best. So to keep it simple. It can be something as simple as prefixing variable names with their data type, like this:

2. 360 no scope
The next thing, which follows nicely from using naming conventions, is using a convention to indicate variable scope. Again, there are no rules, and everyone has their own way of doing it — as long as it’s consistent throughout all of your code, it will always be clear what can be used from where.
A common convention goes as follows:

3. Say what you mean
This is pretty straightforward, but it’s probably the most common and maybe the easiest one to forget. Easily the most frustrating thing for another developer looking at your code is seeing a variable with a misleading name or, worse, named with a single letter.
Let’s take a look at an example of this:

While this might look okay, and it is functional, if someone found this in a sea of code with no comments, it isn’t clear why any of it is happening at all.

4. Commenting saves lives — or at least headaches
Adding comments to your code can be invaluable—they can quickly show what a complex function is doing, or maybe even explain why certain things need to happen in a certain order. They do have a downside, though, because too much commenting can have the opposite effect and actually make for messier code.

5. Automate after three times
Writing slightly more technical code doesn’t mean it has to be less readable. Lines and lines of duplicate code are not only harder to read than a concise and elegant solution, but they also increase the chance of error. The great thing about programming is that you can express complex commands in tidy, reusable, and clever ways.
Here’s an example of poor, duplicated code:

And here’s an approach that cleans everything up:

6. Birds of a feather flock together (and they group similar variables)
When your projects start to get larger, your classes will likely have many variables. First, you should be keeping all of your variable declarations at the top of the page, or at the very least all together somewhere—this speeds up any kind of searching.
Second, even though they are all together, it often helps to arrange them in such a way that makes them even easier to comprehend. For example, grouping them all by what they are is a good way to go. It’s quite likely that you’ll have several types of the same object, so keep those all together in groups, and then maybe have a section for the miscellaneous ones underneath.

7. Keep it classy
Similar to the functional problem, if there’s a large amount of functionality you’re keeping all in one place, it could be better to create a separate class to handle that functionality.
When it comes to writing, reading, and maintainability, clean code is essential. The steps outlined above are not concrete rules. Use them as an outline, or use them as a guide to finding your own style and way of doing things. The important thing is this: Keep it tidy, clearly sectioned, and consistent. Anyone working with your code will appreciate the effort, and might even learn something from your example.

Conclusion

Investing time and effort into writing better, more efficient, and cleaner code in React is a valuable endeavor. It not only enhances the development process and application performance but also facilitates scalability, maintainability, and collaboration among developers. By prioritizing code quality, developers can create robust and successful React applications that meet user expectations and stand the test of time.