Are you struggling with coding errors causing delays in your projects and affecting the quality of your code?
It can be frustrating to spend hours coding only to realize that you made a mistake that could have been avoided. Not only does it slow you down, but it can also be demotivating to see your code not functioning as expected.
Fortunately, there are common coding mistakes that you can easily avoid with a few simple tips. This blog will share 5 Common Coding Mistakes You Should Avoid and provides valuable insights on improving your coding skills and avoiding these errors altogether.
5 Common Coding Mistakes
1) Too Many Things Going On in One Function
One of the common coding mistakes is having too many things going on in a single function. A function should have a single responsibility and do only one thing. When you have a function fetching, processing, and presenting data, it’s better to split it into different functions.
Why is it important to have a single responsibility function? Let’s say you fetched data from an API, and there is a change in the API. If the processing code is part of the same function, there is a greater chance of breaking the code. So, keeping a process focused on a single concern makes it more robust.
2) Commented-Out Code
Have you ever seen a block of code containing multiple functions being commented out? It’s not uncommon, but it’s not good practice. The code should be deleted instead of commenting on it.
The reason is that when someone sees that commented-out code, they don’t know if it’s still relevant. If someone has plans with that code, it’s still available in version control. So, delete that block of commented-out code.
3) Non-Descriptive Naming of Variables
Variable names play a crucial role in making code readable and understandable. Other developers should understand your code. That’s why it’s essential to choose good variable names.
Choosing good names takes time, but it saves more time than it takes. So, make sure to give your variables meaningful and descriptive words.
4) Messy Formatting of Code
Messy code formatting is a common mistake, often made by inexperienced developers. A linter can help you solve this issue. All modern IDEs also have a formatting option to fix this for you. So, make sure to use it.
5) Hard-Coding
Hard coding is embedding data directly into the source code instead of obtaining the data from external sources. It’s a bad practice, as hard-coded values don’t allow configuration.
Hard-coding passwords and file locations is a common scenario. But, it’s not considered best practice. If you find yourself hard coding things, you should critically look at your code because it isn’t the best way to solve a problem.
Avoiding these common coding mistakes will make your code more readable, understandable, and maintainable.
To access relevant information, check out the following blogs:
- Kangaroo Math Blog for Mathematics
- Kancil Science Blog for Science
- Beaver Computational Thinking Blog for Computer Science
- Kijang Economy Blog for Economics.
