Common mistakes by a developer
There is a big difference between a programmer and a developer. The bridge between a programmer and developer can be overcome by avoiding mistakes and practicing regularly. Here we are going to explore common mistakes made by developers and the need to avoid them to become a good developer.
Giving up after failure
To write a successful code, the developer needs to run and remove errors again and again. The cycle at times seem never-ending and thus many developers quit before completing the code. This leads to an incomplete program that could have been something. Instead of learning from failure, they take it as a big “NO” and quit on the program. To avoid this the developer needs to keep going and think of the time when he will be successful with the program.
Using an old school programming language
Many developers commit to an old-school programming language that lacks a lot of functionalities instead of learning the new language as it seems less time-consuming but this leads to high complexity at the time of update. Using old-school programming language also leads to writing longer codes that can easily run just by typing few lines of code in a new programming language. Thus it is really important to learn up-to-date programming languages and use them instead of an old-school programming language.
Test on major browsers
Developers usually test their program out in just one or two of their favorite browsers throughout the development process. Writing a browser-centric program will likely result in bugs when displayed in other browsers. A program that might run on one browser might show errors on another. To avoid such circumstances, it is really important to test the program out in at least all the major browsers, whether it’s Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge. Developers will find bugs in almost any browser, so testing them all out is a need as well.
The problem in Code format
Developers at times write code with inappropriate indentation, blank spaces, and useless new lines. This amateur way of formatting is a mistake because the code does not follow a logical structure and even though it might run, it might have an ugly outcome at the user end. It can lead to several other mistakes, such as declaring a function in the wrong scope. Apart from the obvious functionality implications, it is simply unprofessional.
Writing forking code
When a developer creates code to respond to each possible scenario, the code becomes a heap of if statements, forking in all sorts of direction. Management of code files become bulky and difficult to manage because of this. This also leads to more utilization of processing power and memory as unnecessary functions that might not be needed are running in the background.
Not testing the program
Many developers are overconfident about their coding skills and try to avoid the process of testing, thinking that just because the program is running in their computer’s environment, it will also run perfectly on all other devices as well. Testing such as black box testing is important since it discovers defects/bugs before the delivery to the client, which guarantees the quality of the software. It makes the software more reliable and easy to use. Thoroughly tested software ensures reliable and high-performance software operation.
Not backing up the data
Forgetting to back up work is a mistake many have learned the hard way. It is really important to use an automatic backup tool to save hours of work. Not saving the code might lead to wastage of time and the client certainly won’t understand the excuse, because they will only care about the results.
Conclusion
The main takeaway of this article is to remind you that you should always be careful about authentication and authorization, plan for scalability, and never hastily assume anything as a developer. It is really important to stay up-to-date and to regularly back up your data.
