Following coding standards is a way to make sure your whitespace and certain styling aspects of your code is uniform throughout your codebase. Overall, coding standards is a way to try and make code bug-free and readable for everyone. Certain aspects of coding standards that were introduced to me were using the IntelliJ IDE, ESLint and Git/GitHub tools. In this essay, I will discuss my initial impressions on using these tools to comply with coding standards, and why I think implementing coding standards is a good practice for programmers.
For me, the hardest, most frustrating part of implementing coding standards in my projects was the installation and set-up of all the tools I used. Configuring IntelliJ, installing and configuring ESLint, were all areas where I had a difficult time trying to get right. I believe this is because the Windows OS isn’t a great place to set up a coding environment, but eventually I got it right. After that, ESLint really dug into my code really told me off on how I manage my whitespace. Going back and changing all my whitespace and changing double-quotes to single quotes were really tedious. Additionally, starting to use IntelliJ is really overwhelming. I tried memorizing all of the hotkeys to help me move around in the IDE, but there are so many functions and movements and commands to remember. I’m slowly getting the hang of things, but I found myself fumbling over all of the new controls in this initial week.
Even though it was really tedious and overwhelming at first, I immediately saw improvements in my code. My whitespace styling was uniform throughout my code, it was easier to read and follow along, and I didn’t have to worry about missing a semi-colon or closing bracket because ESLint immediately found those errors for me. Also, using coding standards really showed me how big-name industries like their code, and if I ever work in a big industry, or a large team, I can follow coding standards to make sure our coding styles are uniform and readable throughout the company. These are the reasons why I believe coding standards should be implemented by everyone, and why they are worth the initial struggle.
Overall, I believe coding standards is a very helpful tool that every programmer should use. Using an IDE really streamlines the tools that a developer should have, and using all the commands available lessens the pains in coding. ESLint helps me prevent small errors and hard-to-find bugs in my code becuase of syntactical errors. Even if I’m using coding standards for only a week, I immediately notice improvements in my coding and it’s definitely worth the initial struggle.