Things can seem overwhelming if you’re trying to make a career as a developer. With an in-depth knowledge of different development technologies and languages, how should you learn the right tool for the job? This blog post offers tips on software development and picking the right language and technology, covering everything from what you should consider before jumping into production to code quality best practices.
Understand the Fundamentals
Before diving into any particular language or framework, you should first understand the fundamentals of development. A good way to start is by learning good coding practices and methodologies. Consider what your application is used for in the future. Think about how it will evolve when new technologies and frameworks are introduced and what changes can be made more easily.
Pick your Right Tools
One of the biggest decisions you’ll have to make is which programming language or framework to use. Do you want to focus on performance, maintainability, or ease of use? It’s important to consider how well the tool fits your application. For example, will you focus on efficiency and low overhead with a compiled language that allows for speedy execution? How about if you need support for large-scale deployments? Choosing a single technology can be difficult — it depends on your application needs.
About “Good” Code
When deciding on a language, you must consider your code readable. If your code is clean and easy to understand, it’s more likely that others will be able to maintain it and make changes if required. An easy way to test this is by using a coding style guide. You must read your code and follow its guidelines, which helps prevent errors when any unexpected changes are made.
Testing is the Key to Quality
Once you’ve picked your language, you should ensure your code is as clean and efficient as possible by writing thorough tests. In addition to having basic unit tests, you’ll also want to ensure you’re testing functionality and functionality-specific scenarios. If your user profile can be built, for example, how does it affect how your application runs? Finally, consider how easy it will be to deploy your application in the future.
While it’s easy to get overwhelmed when picking out a language and framework, you can do a few simple things to ensure you’re making the right choice.
