As a programmer, you want to write code that is fast, reliable, and easy to maintain. But how do you measure and improve your performance as a coder? In this article, we will explore some of the most important tools that can help you achieve your goals and boost your productivity.
A code editor is a software application that allows you to write, edit, and debug your code. It can provide features such as syntax highlighting, code completion, error checking, formatting, and refactoring. A good code editor can save you time and effort by making your code more readable and consistent. Some popular code editors are Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, Atom, and Vim.
Version control is a system that tracks and manages the changes you make to your code over time. It can help you collaborate with other programmers, revert to previous versions, create branches, and merge conflicts. Version control can also improve your performance by enabling you to test new features, fix bugs, and deploy your code safely. Some common version control tools are Git, Mercurial, SVN, and Perforce.
Learn the basics first, how to: - branch or the workflow of the particular Version Control System - check out code - change code and mark or add changes - commit changes - push changes - resolve conflicts Learn the GUI and command-line commands and the effects on the repo. Also configure your credentials in order to allow for code traceability. In the past I had some mishaps and team frustration coming from team-members trying out the complex version control features first (without the basics) or not knowing the team contribution workflow.
Debugging tools are software tools that help you find and fix errors in your code. They can help you inspect the state of your variables, breakpoints, stack traces, and logs. Debugging tools can also help you optimize your code by identifying performance bottlenecks, memory leaks, and CPU usage. Some examples of debugging tools are Chrome DevTools, Visual Studio Debugger, PyCharm, and GDB.
Testing tools are software tools that help you verify the functionality and quality of your code. They can help you write and run automated tests that check your code for errors, bugs, and vulnerabilities. Testing tools can also help you improve your performance by ensuring that your code meets the requirements, standards, and expectations of your clients and users. Some types of testing tools are unit testing, integration testing, functional testing, and security testing.
Senior Software Engineer @ Carrier Technologies India Ltd | ReactJS | NodeJS | AWS
One of the testing tools I find myself regularly using is Google Lighthouse. Although it does not tell if a particular feature is working correctly, It does tell a lot about the performance, SEO, & and accessibility of a web application. It gives detailed feedback on improving the website by giving various tips. Just by following the tips from Lighthouse, I've managed to improve the performance of many web applications. By inculcating the best practices suggested by Lighthouse, you eventually build performant web applications.
Documentation tools are software tools that help you create and maintain documentation for your code. Documentation is a written or visual explanation of how your code works, what it does, and how to use it. Documentation can help you improve your performance by making your code easier to understand, modify, and reuse. Documentation can also help you communicate with other programmers, clients, and users. Some documentation tools are Sphinx, Javadoc, Doxygen, and Markdown.
Learning tools are software tools that help you learn new skills and technologies as a programmer. They can help you access online courses, tutorials, books, podcasts, and videos that cover various topics and languages. Learning tools can also help you improve your performance by keeping you updated with the latest trends, best practices, and innovations in the programming world. Some learning tools are Coursera, Udemy, Codecademy, and Stack Overflow.