6 coding tips to improve your coding skills

Nowadays, many programmers may not be able to find good and effective ways to improve their skills and programming skills, or they may just stay in the present. Now we will tell you some more practical and effective methods.

Some programmers can write at least a few hundred lines of code in four different languages ​​every week. You can also collaborate with other developers working together to edit and review code.

To put it simply, there is a lot of code lying around, and when it is not organized and managed, but more importantly when it is not written well, things get a little complicated. Let’s take a look at a few different ways to improve the overall quality of our code.

1. Start building modules

One of the best ways to keep your code consistent, reusable, and organized is to group functionality together. For example, instead of throwing all your js code into one main.js file, try grouping them in separate files based on functionality, and then concatenate them after you complete your build steps. Of course, there is more to do to write modular code, and you can’t just write modular code in js.

CSS preprocessors, like Sass (introduced here), they can make You write the CSS files in separate files, and then include them in a main file when you compile them. This allows you to write separate CSS files for different components, like buttons, lists, and fonts. Finally, they are all included into one main file, and maintaining the code as a whole becomes much easier.

New technologies, such as Polymer, allow you to write custom HTML elements so that your HTML, CSS and JS can be organized into separate components based on functionality. You should also check out Browserify (described here), which allows you to use Node.js-style modules in the browser.

Brad Frost in This also provides a great overview of the concepts and methods of writing modular code.

2. Speaking of preprocessors...

Preprocessors are not only helpful in writing modular code. They are helpful in many other ways. Works great too! Preprocessors can add extra functionality inside your code while outputting the same HTML, CSS, and JS that browsers can handle. They often require some extra setup time, but only take one like this Time, you can continue to enjoy the benefits of using them.

Using preprocessors can help you save time writing repetitive code multiple times. They also provide things like variables, functions, loops and simplified syntax. Very useful feature. Most preprocessors are also highly customizable. Some also include options to choose the output style you prefer, include plugins and add-ons, and even create custom notifications if necessary. The most popular preprocessors have large communities and are well maintained, while in general The answers to your questions are also easy to find.

Here is a video introducing the most popular CSS, HTML and JS preprocessors: Sass, Haml and CoffeeScript.

If you are interested in Sass, here is an article by SitePoint author Hugo Giraudel Articles organizing their Sass projects, and his favorite tools for doing them.

When you study Sass, be sure to also look at HAML and Coffescript.

You don’t have to be in every one you use Preprocessors are used in all the languages ​​you use to write programs, but many of them can really help you write better code.

3. Plan before you start writing

The last time you sit down to write with pen and paper How would you approach a project next, and when? What architecture do you plan to use, how many browsers do you expect to support, and do you plan to use any automated runtime tools or build systems? Once you figure out exactly how it's going to be structured, it's easy to get started with the project, only to realize halfway through that you need to go back and rewrite some code.

North is an excellent set of guides to guide you from start to finish. Rules for planning a web project. It is a long and comprehensive online document, not everything will be used when writing code, but its length and detailed procedures do show how many factors are involved in building a site. Must be considered.

Choosing the right tools and libraries can be a challenging task, especially when new tools and libraries are being created every day. My strategy is to keep a toolbox resource A list to keep track of the best and most useful stuff, so you can use it freely in your next project.

4. Use version control

Version control is a way to record according to time Modification of files or resources, which allows multiple people to edit, change tracking, and management of resources. There are many services that support version control, including Bitbucket, Assembla, and Github. Github is my personal favorite because it supports social networking ified coding, which means people can share code on Github, develop or learn from code written by others.

Version control is a somewhat complex topic to understand, but there are many introductory tutorials. I recommend reading our introduction to git to get a basic understanding of it before getting started. You can also take a look at the git usage guide and git advanced tips from our team. If you're not interested in git, you can also check out other suggestions for version control.

Last suggestion: use the command line. The command line can be an intimidating user interface, but becoming familiar with it will improve your understanding of programming overall while giving you the ability to use other great tools like Gulp and Grunt.

5. Start code review

If you are part of a team then this is easy for you, but if you are an independent developer code review is not impossible. The basic idea of ​​a code review is to show the code you wrote to other developers (or superiors) so that you can explain what you wrote, learn how to write it better, and even teach people who don't understand the technology you're using. familiar person.

It’s best to do it once a week, with the purpose of learning how to improve the completed code. Here is an article on the benefits of code reviews that explains how to best perform code reviews.

If you develop independently, or you are very anti-social, jslint and SCSSlint will be very useful. These tools check your code for errors while keeping your files neat and clean. With them you don't need to interact with people.

6. Take the Challenge of Programming

There are many free online resources designed to provide programming challenges for developers who are looking for a better understanding of the languages ​​they use every day. Most of these sites are equipped with large communities , willing to help when needed, so you don’t have to worry about being unable to continue after encountering difficulties.

CodeWars is very helpful for sorting out your JS abilities, and Practice App provides you with random front-end challenges built in Codepen.

Following the above suggestions to some extent will greatly improve your coding skills, and therefore improve the quality of the sites, tools or applications you write.

These suggestions are also based on the opinions of more experienced programmers. I have summarized the relevant experience to share with you. I hope that if you have time, you can learn more about it, maybe it can help you.