Importance in coding standards
11 Feb 2021
The importance of coding standards
When learning how to code, the most important aspect of coding should be taught is the standard of coding. The standards of coding make it easier for others to read an author’s code, because it follows this guideline everyone else is following. Coding standards are like rules drivers follow when driving on the road. When all the drivers follow the rules, is easier for others to driver because they are not performing illegally driving activity that can harm others. While not following the code won’t harm another programmer, it certainly makes it harder for others to read the code. Some coding standards are use descriptive variable names, indent code within loops, have a line break(s) between functions. These elements make the programmer better, because these standards are meant to help a programmer to code more efficiently.
When I first started learning how to code, I learned the styling of my languages. I did make mistakes to not indent in the places where I need to indent, that cause my code to not look organize. This also cause a problem when I presented my code to my teacher, it was hard for him to read. When I learned all the styles, I need for the coding language. My code was much easier to read, and it also easier for me to debug errors because it was organizing.
In my software engineering class, we use a plug-in within IntelliJ IDEA called ESLint. You give it a set of standards to follow, in our class we use the “Air BnB” coding standards for JavaScript, and it will check the typed code for errors of the formatting and vulnerabilities. What the plug in does is that it gives me feedback and alerts what the problem it. There is a green check mark that appears to show the code is good to go. I really like this feature because it lets me know that my code is compliant with the coding standards. I think more people should use ESLint because it provides a convenient experience for people who want to learn the coding standards. It also makes me want to research about plug-in, I want to know what other convenient tools that’s out there that will make my coding experience easier.