Great Tips And Strategies for Reducing Code Clutter in Your Software

The bane of any form of software development is cluttered-up code. In order to be a pro developer, you have to be a pro at reducing code clutter.

In this article, we’ll discuss a few crucial clean coding tips to make you into that much of a better programmer.

Use Comments Wisely

The first and foremost principle of clean coding is to use comments wisely. This means several things. Firstly, you have to use comments. It’s surprising to see how many coders, even in this modern day of coding education, still fail to utilize comments to their full potential.

Without comments, there is little to no chance that people who read your code will be able to follow what you’re doing. Even the best coder would take hours to understand a program that may seem simple and straightforward to you. This is because everyone codes differently. So, someone may not be used to the way that you’ve coded a specific functionality, and thus may not recognize it for what it is.

Having comments interspersed liberally throughout your code at every step will help assuage that gap. Use your comments to explain how each piece of the functionality works.

The second part of using comments wisely, however, is also writing comments when necessary. If the comment isn’t going to add much to the code or the code is so straightforward that it doesn’t require a comment, then don’t put one in there. If it’s unnecessary, it will only add to the clutter and achieve the opposite effect of clarifying your code.

Write Only What Is Necessary

The next clean coding tip is to write only the code that is essential to the functioning of your program. If the code doesn’t need to be in there, take it out. All coders have their own style, and it originates from how they were taught, i.e. professionally or self-learnt. Hire a coder that has a similar style to your own or that of your existing development team.

Like with everything new, follow Ernest Hemingway’s rule of writing: “the first draft of anything is garbage.” The first draft of your code is likely the same way. Thus, you should always take the time to go back over your code and remove that which is unnecessary to your program.

Once you start lifting those pieces of code out, you will quickly begin to see how much cleaner your code will look.

Get Your Code Peer-Reviewed

Last, but certainly not least, never forget to get your code peer-reviewed. You may be missing one very obviously cluttered and confusing spot. Getting a second pair of eyes on the code that has never seen it before will allow you to find those spots easily. If someone has never before seen the code, they won’t be biased toward understanding the functionality.

Thus, if anything is confusing at all, they’ll immediately begin to point it out. As an SEO developer, always leverage the power of your network and your coworkers to go over code with you that you’ve written before you release it.

Reducing Code Clutter Made Easy

You can’t go wrong with these tips on reducing code clutter. Start implementing them today and see your skills as a software developer vastly improve.

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