As can be seen from the definitions, quality and requirements are closely related. Any object (whether jewelry or software) considered quality must meet specified requirements (software development startup).
- Before you start writing code, it is helpful to refresh your memory on some fundamental and related topics. Review your know-how about data structure and algorithms, as this is part of the substructure of any real-world application. Cover things like arrays, linked lists, maps, sets, source code controls, text editors, databases, SQL, and the like. If possible, you could even revisit the concepts of Algebra 1 maths: functions and variables.
- Make the project work, do it right and do it quickly. Create simple solutions first and then add extreme options, ensuring that the more straightforward solutions work. Once you have checked that all the results are correct and all the inputs are in, you can measure performance. You should only do the appropriate optimization (https://digitalsuits.co/services/custom-software-development-for-startups/).
- Code readability is much more important than it may seem. Unfortunately, there are no handy metrics for evaluating this characteristic. It is helpful to remember proven programming techniques and patterns, but this is often not enough. A good developer with experience develops an intuition that tells you how readable the code is. Here is a good comparison: it is not enough to have a large vocabulary to write concise text. Software developers do not think of their job as simply writing software – they think about meeting needs and solving problems. And this is important because not every task needs a program; in some cases, it is sufficient to use an existing program or combine several programs. And by being proactive, it is sometimes possible to avoid the need for a given problem altogether: good program development often involves planning, which prevents specific issues and related tasks from arising in the future. Quality programs make the code easy to understand and read, they can be easily extended, interact well with other software, and their support does not become a nightmare.
- Software becomes useful when several components communicate, exchange data, and work together to present data and interfaces to users. An app component is usually not very useful on its own. When developers write software, they make sure that it works in many different environments, on machines with different resources, and in different time zones. The software has to work on screens of different sizes and orientations, with limited memory and low processing power.
- For example, if the software is written for a web browser, it must work on all major browsers. Writing classic software will generally need to run on Mac and Windows platforms. If the application is created depending on receiving data, it must continue to work even if the data connection is slow or absent for some time. And programs must be designed with this in mind. What messages does the software receive? How are authentication and authorization done during data transfer?
- With any software, something is bound to go wrong at some point. The main sign of good software is fixing a program that has already been released easily. If a program generates an error while running, it must be communicated and centrally recorded somewhere to be tracked. When a new error is reported, the person responsible for fixing it must debug, connect to the system at any time, obtain information about the execution context, and check the expected behavior of a system component.
Another important aspect of writing good programs is clear code, not the number of tests or the code coverage report. Here it’s simple. Think about it: will others be able to read the code? Or – even better – will you, having written the code today, be able to understand it a few weeks later?
