Coding standards are one of the few fundamental things that all software engineers absolutely need to adhere to.
I like to compare coding to writing a paper. In the beginning, when an individual is still trying to learn the ropes
of writing, they will often times have problems in translating their thoughts to paper. What an individual thinks
they are portraying and what they actually do portray are two very different things. The individual may have run-on
sentences, spelling mistakes, and grammatical discrepancies. This causes the reader to struggle in digesting the
writers thoughts, leading to a sort of ‘lost in translation’ instance. Just like with writing, typing up messy and
unreadable code will lead to frustration for the reader.
Like most software engineers, I take pride in my code. I want my code to not only be readable but very simple in design. I feel if someone were to look at my code, and if they almost instantly describe back to me how my code works, that means I have written good code. On the other hand, if someone has a tough time trying to read my code because of bracket indentations, bad variable names, or anything related, I feel this is a direct correlation to my prowess as a software engineer. Your code is a direct reflection of who you are as not only as a software engineer, but also as an individual. Taking pride in what you create and share with others is a very good trait to have, and I feel is essential in getting a job in the future. Having a good tool that helps keep your code clean is especially important. One instance of a good code checking tool that I have some experience with is ESLint.
I have just only recently began to work with the IntelliJ IDE. So far it seems to me that, it has a lot of features and potential to be a great IDE. I have previously used Atom, and Eclipse for IDEs and both have their pros and cons. One of the good features of IntelliJ is the amount of flexibility is given to the user. There are countless ways to configure it which makes it a great program to use. One of these custom enhancements I have installed is ESLint. ESLint is in a sense a spell checker for your code. Not only does it check for syntax issues it also forces the user to configure their code correctly. It makes sure you have correct spacing, indentation, and proper variable declarations and such. At first I found ESLint to be tedious in everything it asked of me, having to spend an extra 5+ minutes to clean up my code I found to be a slight irritation. But afterwards my code looked much better. It had correct spacing, indentation, and was a breeze to trace. It made my code look professional, and I was not afraid in presenting to my peers.
Even though adhering to standard practice coding standards can be a bit of a chore, it is definitely worth it. I feel that if it is my job to trace and bug fix code, I would like to have clear legible and easy to understand code. Not having to decipher illegible code is a huge plus, and makes everyones life easier. I wish to keep my code up to par with everyone else. And I think using a add-on like ESLint, makes it that much easier.