7 Common Mistakes to Avoid in Programming
Along with the ancient members of the programming world, the number of languages, platforms and libraries is constantly increasing. All this increase makes this world grow at a great speed. On the other hand, some common mistakes continue to exist.
In this article, we will talk about some mistakes that should not be made in programming. Let's see, what are these errors?
1) Not using a version control system in collaborative work
Version control saves lives. Without source control management tools like Git, surviving in the programming world would be much more difficult. These tools greatly facilitate collaboration and navigating tasks.
Imagine checking and merging your files manually. You keep different files for different versions of the code. Such applications would be inefficient and unreliable. Therefore, not using one of the version control systems like Git is a mistake that should be abandoned immediately!
2) Not using proper variable names
Some programmers use short variable names that they randomly choose. These names may be sufficient for 10-20 line programs, but they are not suitable for large projects. Inappropriate variables create barriers to readability and productivity .
The rule of thumb for naming your variables is that they are descriptive. These names are supposed to have a reminder feature of what it's about. We are not talking at length about expressions here. You can find short keywords that remind you of the variable's task.
3) Depend on too many resources
How many open source libraries are on GitHub? Too many to count. These libraries greatly facilitate the work of developers and significantly reduce the completion time of projects.
However, over-commitment poses a danger to the project in general; it can mean slow compiling and running. Use the libraries you need, but don't complete the whole project with libraries. Also, when you update, don't forget to check if the libraries you use support it.
4) Not writing code descriptively
Nobody wants to understand what it does by reading the whole function or file. You may prefer to write the code with a minimum of lines and characters, but this can cause problems later on.
You should always try to explain the code correctly with notes. So that someone else reading the code or you can understand what's going on when you open the code later. Add notes where necessary. It is also of great importance at this point to use code uniform syntax and descriptive variable names.
5) Inconsistent formatting
As we mentioned briefly before, consistency is very important. Inconsistent formatting greatly affects readability and productivity. Set a naming convention for the project and stick to it. Don't change your style in the middle of code. Also use the same style for indentation throughout the code.
6) Ignoring error handling
No matter how well you write, there is a chance that your code will fail. An API error, timeout, data type mismatch, null value or something else... Error handling may vary depending on the language you're working with. The general rule is to be consistent in applying null checks before accessing data. Because these break the code the most.
7) Poor data type and data structure selection
This error is more pronounced in some languages than others. Some languages won't even allow you to compile the code if there is a type mismatch, but will throw an error in the execution part.
One of the most common examples of this is when numeric values defined as integer, float, double conflict with a string. Some languages convert automatically, while others throw errors.