Top 5 principles of Modern Software Development
Last few years, software development has become a trendy choice. Whether you are working at home or in a company, you probably spend hours every day writing code. And if you want to be better at programming, then you should definitely read this article. Lets find out the essential principles of modern software development at present times.
Software development is a complex field. There are thousands of books written on the subject, but only a handful of them really explain the basics of the topic.
Top 5 essential principles of modern software development
In order to master programming, you need to understand some basic concepts. If you know the basics carefully, they are pretty simple. Keep this in mind and remember – security goes first! This list will give you essential tips for your career as a programmer. You’ll discover five key principles we use when writing modern web applications, along with some explanation of how each principle improves web application security.
1) Write easy-to-maintain programs
You can not program anything without writing code. It might sound strange, but I bet that most of us do it every day. People often say that “you cannot judge someone by their looks” and this also applies to software. If your application is hard to use, then nobody will be able to work with it easily. This means that you have to make sure that your applications are easy to install, configure and operate.
2) Follow best practices
This is an obvious one. You should always write your code following the same rules and guidelines. Even though most people know how to do it right, sometimes you need to go out of the box and do something else. Best practices help programmers avoid common mistakes while coding. They act as a kind of safety net for developers. So even if all your colleagues don’t know what the best practice is, just follow it nonetheless.
3) Use tools
I am not talking about IDEs here because these are too specific. Instead, I would like to talk about general programming tools. It doesn’t matter whether you are using Visual Studio Code, Atom, Sublime Text, Notepad++, or any other text editor.
There are a lot of online services that allow users to generate random code snippets. Maybe it’s a calculator, a date picker, or even a login form generator. These online tools can save a lot of time when developing new features. But unfortunately, the process of downloading such generators can take up to several minutes.
4) Test early!
If you want to increase test coverage, then you should start testing your app from the beginning instead of focusing on adding more tests later. Unit tests should precede integration tests. Writing unit tests before integrating multiple classes into a single class is crucial since it allows you to identify bugs faster.
5) Keep learning
It seems that we already covered this point in the previous point, but let me elaborate further. Learning new things is the key to becoming a better programmer. No matter which language or technology you work with. Continuous learning is a must. A great way to learn new techniques is to attend conferences and workshops where experts share their knowledge. Another option is to join courses on Udemy or Coursera.
How to write a secure program?
Now, we know the key principles of modern software development, let’s examine them in detail. Here are the main points:
- Security goes first – Programming does not mean that you can ignore security issues. In fact, security goes much deeper than programming alone. Any application that stores data in databases or communicates over networks should be thoroughly tested for vulnerabilities. You should focus on writing code and testing it at every step. Nevertheless, you should never forget that security comes first.
- Write easy-to-maintain programs – Software maintenance is inevitable. It is impossible to prevent bugs in the code since no human being is perfect. That’s why you shouldn’t waste time trying to make code hard to read and understand. Your goal should be to write clear and concise code.
- Learn good software engineering practices – The best way to protect yourself against errors is to use proven design patterns. The best way to find a pattern is to search through tutorials and open-source projects. And another way is to ask experienced developers. Or maybe you could try to solve problems by yourself by applying some well-known strategies. For example, TDD (Test Driven Development), BDD (Behavior Driven Development), FP (Functional Programming), or SOLID (Single Responsibility Principle, Open/Closed principle, Liskov substitution principle, and Interface Segregation Principle).
Future of software development
Last few years the world of software development has changed a lot. Thanks to artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and deep learning, we are living in the future of software development. This is going to affect the industry greatly. According to research conducted at MIT, AI technologies could replace up to 45% of current jobs within 15 years. That’s why it’s important to keep up with the times and stay ahead of the curve. It really doesn’t matter what you choose, you’ll become successful.
Other questions
When it comes to software development, there are many different ways to approach projects. When you stuck in a rut, try switching strategies. Don’t get attached to one particular method; think outside of the box. As long as it works, it’s worth trying.
One thing to remember: even though a project might be finished after months or even years depending on its size, don’t stop working on it. Just because you’ve completed the project does NOT mean that it is done yet. There will ALWAYS be new issues to explore and problems to solve. The software industry is constantly evolving so don’t expect everything to be perfect the day you finish coding.
By following these five basic principles of modern software development we will ensure that our applications are bug-free and safe for end users. We hope that you enjoyed reading this article about best practices in software development. Stay tuned for more articles like this.
