Code Reviews: Why should I review the code that works?

Code review is the process of evaluating code written by one or more developers with the goal of identifying potential problems and making suggestions for improvement. It is an essential part of the software development process and plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality, reliability, and maintainability of the code. In this blog post, we will take a closer look at what code review is, why it is important, and the best practices to follow when conducting a code review.

What is code review?

Code review is a collaborative process in which developers review each other's code to identify and fix potential issues before the code is released to production. The goal of code review is to catch bugs, improve code quality, and promote knowledge sharing among developers. Code reviews can be performed in a variety of ways, such as through pull requests on Git, email exchanges, or face-to-face discussions.

Why is code review important?

Code review is an important part of the software development process for several reasons. Firstly, it helps catch bugs and improve code quality. During a code review, other developers can identify problems in the code and suggest improvements, which can help catch bugs and prevent them from being released to production.

Secondly, code review promotes knowledge sharing among developers. During a code review, developers have the opportunity to learn from each other and share best practices and techniques. This not only helps improve the code but also helps developers grow and become better programmers.

Finally, code review helps ensure that code is maintainable. By reviewing code before it is released to production, developers can ensure that it is well-written, easy to understand, and can be easily maintained and updated in the future.

Best practices for code review

To ensure that code review is a valuable and productive process, it is important to follow best practices. Here are some of the best practices to keep in mind when conducting a code review:

1. Set clear goals and expectations. Before you begin a code review, it is important to have a clear understanding of the goals and expectations. This includes understanding the scope of the review, the standards that should be applied, and the expected outcome.
2. Focus on code quality. During a code review, focus on the quality of the code and how it can be improved. This includes looking at the structure of the code, the use of best practices, and the readability of the code.
3. Be respectful and constructive. Code review can be a sensitive process, as developers are reviewing each other's work. It is important to be respectful and constructive in your feedback and to avoid personal attacks or negative comments.
4. Use tools to automate code analysis. There are many tools available that can help automate code analysis, such as linting tools, code coverage tools, and code quality tools. Using these tools can help identify potential problems in the code more quickly and accurately.
5. Encourage participation from all team members. Code review should be a collaborative process, and it is important to encourage participation from all team members. This can include junior developers, senior developers, and even non-developers, such as project managers or product managers.

Difference between code with and without review

Code that has been reviewed is typically of higher quality than code that has not been reviewed. During a code review, other developers can identify problems in the code and suggest improvements, which can help catch bugs and prevent them from being released to production.

Code that has not been reviewed is more likely to contain bugs and have other issues. Without the benefit of a code review, these problems may not be identified until they are released to production, which can be costly and time-consuming to fix.

How does code review helps developers and organizations to grow mutually?

Code review helps developers and organizations to grow mutually in several ways:

1. Improves code quality: During a code review, other developers can identify problems in the code and suggest improvements, which can help catch bugs and prevent them from being released to production. This leads to better quality code and a better user experience.
2. Promotes knowledge sharing: Code review provides an opportunity for developers to learn from each other and share best practices and techniques. This helps to improve the code and also helps developers to grow and become better programmers.
3. Ensures maintainability: By reviewing code before it is released to production, developers can ensure that it is well-written, easy to understand, and can be easily maintained and updated in the future. This helps to reduce the cost and effort required to maintain the code over time.
4. Increases collaboration: Code review is a collaborative process that involves multiple developers working together to review and improve code. This helps to increase collaboration and teamwork within the organization and can lead to better results and a more positive work environment.
5. Improves the overall development process: By conducting code reviews, organizations can identify areas for improvement in their development process. This can help to streamline the process and make it more efficient, which can lead to faster development times and lower costs.

In conclusion, code review is an essential part of the software development process and can provide benefits for both developers and organizations. By following best practices, organizations can ensure that code reviews are productive and lead to improved code quality, increased knowledge sharing, and better collaboration. This can help organizations to grow and become more successful.

Bonus read

Static code review tools that can help identify bugs and vulnerabilities

Sonar Qube

SonarQube is one of the more popular static code analysis tools out there. It is an open-source platform for continuous inspection of code quality and performs automatic reviews via static code analysis. In addition, it can detect and report bugs, code smells, and numerous other security vulnerabilities.

PVS Studio

PVS Studio analyses code for errors, typos, dead snippets, redundancy, and potential vulnerabilities. It also monitors code quality for a variety of languages including C, C++, and Java. Developers can easily integrate this tool with application development platforms and compilation systems including Visual Studio, Eclipse, MSBuild, Maven, and Unity.

DeepSource

DeepSource helps developers run a comprehensive analysis of code snippets using a central code quality dashboard. This tool has one of the largest collections of static analysis rules that developers can refer to and the software runs commit and pull requests automatically. It has a reputation for performing analysis with impressive speed and delivering high-quality results.

Coverity

The proprietary static code analysis tool Coverity is a handy tool for engineers and security teams for finding and fixing issues during the software development process. It is one of the fastest code analysis tools and provides quality results. Coverity is compatible with popular languages like C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, PHP, Python, and Ruby. It also supports over 70 application development frameworks for Java, JavaScript, and C#. Developers can also make use of Coverity Scan, which is a free cloud-based service for open-source code analysis.

CodeScene

CodeScene is a behavioral code analysis tool and it provides visualizations based on version-control data and machine-learning algorithms that identify patterns and hidden risks in code. The tool identifies error hotspots in complex code and prioritizes developers' engagement with code. It supports popular languages like C, C++, C#, Java, and Python. A free SaaS version of CodeScene is available for open-source projects and an on-premise version that includes more advanced features, like continuous integration support, integration for cost calculations, and on- and off-boarding simulations, are also available.