Good software is easy to recognise; if it works and looks pretty decent, that’s usually enough for most people to judge the quality of the code. However, at 4FX, we’re firm believers in pushing boundaries. Here, software developer Alex offers his top three tips for switching your software up from good to great.
1. Give your code extendibility
As requirements change over time, system adjustments are inevitable, including adding or removing specific functionality. To make this as easy as possible, a developer has to do things like put in comments to explain business or data logic and make variable names plain English, descriptive and easy to read. Avoiding code repetition is really helpful here. It’s often tempting to just copy and paste a block of code but if the same logic can be run from multiple places it considerably reduces spaghetti. Following this advice means that another developer can seamlessly and intuitively take over development of the code.
2. Ensure it is upgradable
Following best practice for code’s custom component means that rewriting code can be avoided when it comes to upgrading to a new platform. The advantage of upgrading an existing system is support – when a platform has reached end of life, no further security updates will be deployed, so the software running on that platform has potential security risks and bugs. Also, upgrading to run on a newer platform will usually give a speed enhancement, and there will be new features to take advantage of.
3. Make it scalable
Usually, when a system or app is created, the developer will run it on a small dataset to see if it works satisfactorily. However, out in the real world these datasets can be enormous, which can mean a substantial hit to performance that could drastically impact the software. It’s difficult to reverse engineer software to make it scalable when problems are encountered – it’s so much cleaner to code for it in the first place, saving everyone time and money.
These key points should be at the forefront of the development team right from the get go, it’s so much easier to get coding right from the beginning rather than trying to fix it at a later date.
The 4FX CodeHub 200 team specialises in planning and developing web and software solutions that meet your business needs, using the right technology and platform for the job. For more information and to talk to us about your next software development project, get in touch on 01908 375200 or email us at getintouch@4fx.co.uk.
