8 things that a developer should not be afraid of
Change code
In the process of developing software, there is no such thing as "stagnation." Everything that you are developing now is just another version of the component, which is likely to change in the future. Change is the most common phenomenon in the world of software development and you better accept it as a fact. Count on possible changes to everything that you are developing and therefore design your code more modular. This simplifies changes and at the same time increases the quality of the code. Try to stick to the concepts of DRY and YAGNI. You will often be in a situation where you look at your code and imagine that you could do it better. So don't let that thought stop you from sleeping. Sit down right away and refactor! If you do not do it now, you may never do it. The longer you wait, the more difficult and expensive it will be. And it can grow into an extra headache that you don’t want to mess with.
“Good code is code that is easy to change. The code tends to change to the point where it is no longer easy to change. All code becomes bad code. ” Unknown author.
Delete dead / commented code
If you feel that a dead or commented code is no longer needed, but you don’t want to delete it, because you don’t know exactly whether it will be needed in the future or not - REMOVE IT NOW! To keep the code is the work of your version control system, not comments! I have seen a lot of software filled with tons of commented code that everyone has long forgotten about. And this is because if you cannot remember why this code, the fear of deleting it appears even faster in your head. So, just delete - NOW - indeed.
"Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing to add, but when there is nothing to take away." Antoine de Saint-Exupery
To make mistakes
No one is perfect and everyone is mistaken. Making mistakes is a learning process. There will be no progress if you do not and find your mistakes. Thus: Every time you make a mistake, you will learn something completely new to improve your knowledge. The more you are mistaken and find your mistakes, the better you become. Moreover, it makes no sense to hide their mistakes and be ashamed of them. Being honest and frank in your mistakes makes you a great guy and reliable colleague. Thus, criticism, in a constructive sense, is an important tool for successful development teams.
"The one who was not mistaken, never tried to do something new." Albert Einstein
Show your code to others
Are you afraid when other people view your code? Why? Wrote not as good as they could write? Well, then this may not be the right job for you. Are you afraid that you are mistaken somewhere? So in this case you should not be afraid - because of every error you find when viewing the code, you get the benefit (see “Make mistakes”). You should always write your code as carefully as you can. Therefore, you should rather be proud of what you wrote, and not be afraid that someone will look at the code.
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Face bad luck
This is one of the most important moments. If you have reached a place in your work where you do not see any solutions to the problem: never give up hope. Take it as a challenge. Try to look at the problem from a different angle or explain to other people. Maybe you are just stuck solving a problem in a different perspective. Successful solution of this puzzle will make you even more powerful developer.
“I was not mistaken. I just found 10,000 ways that don't work. ” Thomas Edison
Code instability
Everyone is familiar with this situation: come to the leadership or the customer for the presentation of your project and start worrying. “Will it work this time? Maybe I didn't miss anything in the development process! ”This is a bad sign, but you don’t need to worry. You needed to test your project in advance. Naturally, you can never be completely sure that everything will work perfectly, but you can greatly increase confidence using automated testing. This will allow you to feel comfortable when applying changes in the code and demonstrating your software.
New and complex technologies
Developers are lazy and often linger too much on their “good old” technologies. IT develops incredibly fast, new and better technologies appear every day. Be open to everything new, read blogs and be modern. If it seems that the technology or framework fully meets your needs, try it. And show it to your colleagues, tell everyone.
Lack of time
Do not let lack of time ruin the quality of your product. It is your job to keep the code clean and stable. Quality requires deliberate decisions and time. And sometimes you have to fight for it. Your customer expects 100% quality, maybe even 120%, ready-made, conveniently accompanied product and artwork. If quality falls and mediocre results are provided, in the end you will receive even more requests for changes, more efforts to support and distrust the customer. The time that you saved earlier will be eaten by the technical debts to which you gave freedom. If you miss one leak, then the chances of not breaking through the entire structure begin to fall. Be honest with your management and show all the main things that affect quality.
"Programming is like sex: one mistake and you provide lifelong support." Michael Sins
In the process of developing software, there is no such thing as "stagnation." Everything that you are developing now is just another version of the component, which is likely to change in the future. Change is the most common phenomenon in the world of software development and you better accept it as a fact. Count on possible changes to everything that you are developing and therefore design your code more modular. This simplifies changes and at the same time increases the quality of the code. Try to stick to the concepts of DRY and YAGNI. You will often be in a situation where you look at your code and imagine that you could do it better. So don't let that thought stop you from sleeping. Sit down right away and refactor! If you do not do it now, you may never do it. The longer you wait, the more difficult and expensive it will be. And it can grow into an extra headache that you don’t want to mess with.
“Good code is code that is easy to change. The code tends to change to the point where it is no longer easy to change. All code becomes bad code. ” Unknown author.
Delete dead / commented code
If you feel that a dead or commented code is no longer needed, but you don’t want to delete it, because you don’t know exactly whether it will be needed in the future or not - REMOVE IT NOW! To keep the code is the work of your version control system, not comments! I have seen a lot of software filled with tons of commented code that everyone has long forgotten about. And this is because if you cannot remember why this code, the fear of deleting it appears even faster in your head. So, just delete - NOW - indeed.
"Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing to add, but when there is nothing to take away." Antoine de Saint-Exupery
To make mistakes
No one is perfect and everyone is mistaken. Making mistakes is a learning process. There will be no progress if you do not and find your mistakes. Thus: Every time you make a mistake, you will learn something completely new to improve your knowledge. The more you are mistaken and find your mistakes, the better you become. Moreover, it makes no sense to hide their mistakes and be ashamed of them. Being honest and frank in your mistakes makes you a great guy and reliable colleague. Thus, criticism, in a constructive sense, is an important tool for successful development teams.
"The one who was not mistaken, never tried to do something new." Albert Einstein
Show your code to others
Are you afraid when other people view your code? Why? Wrote not as good as they could write? Well, then this may not be the right job for you. Are you afraid that you are mistaken somewhere? So in this case you should not be afraid - because of every error you find when viewing the code, you get the benefit (see “Make mistakes”). You should always write your code as carefully as you can. Therefore, you should rather be proud of what you wrote, and not be afraid that someone will look at the code.
')
Face bad luck
This is one of the most important moments. If you have reached a place in your work where you do not see any solutions to the problem: never give up hope. Take it as a challenge. Try to look at the problem from a different angle or explain to other people. Maybe you are just stuck solving a problem in a different perspective. Successful solution of this puzzle will make you even more powerful developer.
“I was not mistaken. I just found 10,000 ways that don't work. ” Thomas Edison
Code instability
Everyone is familiar with this situation: come to the leadership or the customer for the presentation of your project and start worrying. “Will it work this time? Maybe I didn't miss anything in the development process! ”This is a bad sign, but you don’t need to worry. You needed to test your project in advance. Naturally, you can never be completely sure that everything will work perfectly, but you can greatly increase confidence using automated testing. This will allow you to feel comfortable when applying changes in the code and demonstrating your software.
New and complex technologies
Developers are lazy and often linger too much on their “good old” technologies. IT develops incredibly fast, new and better technologies appear every day. Be open to everything new, read blogs and be modern. If it seems that the technology or framework fully meets your needs, try it. And show it to your colleagues, tell everyone.
Lack of time
Do not let lack of time ruin the quality of your product. It is your job to keep the code clean and stable. Quality requires deliberate decisions and time. And sometimes you have to fight for it. Your customer expects 100% quality, maybe even 120%, ready-made, conveniently accompanied product and artwork. If quality falls and mediocre results are provided, in the end you will receive even more requests for changes, more efforts to support and distrust the customer. The time that you saved earlier will be eaten by the technical debts to which you gave freedom. If you miss one leak, then the chances of not breaking through the entire structure begin to fall. Be honest with your management and show all the main things that affect quality.
"Programming is like sex: one mistake and you provide lifelong support." Michael Sins
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/187052/
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