Do you often find yourself spending too much time checking your code without finding what you need? Do you get confused when looking at your programs and do your colleagues have trouble working on your material? If so, it might be because you’re not writing clean code.
In this guide, you will learn what clean code is, the benefits of writing clean code, and how to do it.
Don’t waste any more time and jump straight into the interesting part!
Table of Contents
What is clean code?
Clean code is code that is simple, easy to comprehend, and straightforward to modify. It doesn’t have any unnecessary complexity, redundancy, or confusion. Clean code is written following a defined set of practices making it more consistent and easier for multiple developers to work on it.
What are the benefits of writing clean code?
Readability & work efficiency
During coding, you read and think much more than you write. When you can read and visualize better your code you can understand it more and improve your thinking and problem-solving, leading to more work efficiency.
Maintainability & bug fixing
Clean code encourages collaboration. When your code is clean and well-organized, other team members can work on it effectively. This makes it easier to divide tasks and work on different parts of the codebase simultaneously.
Collaboration
When your code is clean, clear, and well-structured your colleagues can work on it much faster and better, increasing work desire, encouraging collaboration, and improving the overall workplace.
5 practices to write clean code
1. Use complete and descriptive names
Longer and more descriptive variables, classes, and function names communicate better the function of the element and don’t conflict with eventual plugins or libraries element names.
# Bad variable names
x = 2.5
score = 30
# Good variable names
iterator_1 = 2.5
total_game_score = 30
2. Shorter functions, better code
Functions and methods should be concise and simple. As stated in The Single Responsibility Principle (SRP), a function should do one thing and do it efficiently. Shorter functions are easier to understand, implement in the code, and maintain. It is recommended to break down long functions into shorter ones.
# Bad function
def result():
#many lines of code with the operations
# Good function
def subtraction():
def addition():
def multiplication():
def operation_result():
subtraction()
addition()
multiplication()
3. Don’t repeat yourself
Try to avoid repetitions, because they can slow your code and make it busy for you and your colleagues. Usually, repetitions are caused by the absence of functions (with parameters), that can make your code much smoother.
# Repetition
x = (a + b) * c
z = (d + e) * f
# Use a function instead. Now it seems like a waste of space but on a larger scale it isn't
#def addition_and_multiplication(var_1, var_2, var_3)
x = addition_and_multiplication(a, b, c)
z = addition_and_multiplication(d, e, f)
4. Keep the same formatting and indentation
You have to keep the same pattern in your code and in every code you write. Remember about naming conventions like spaces (choose between underscores and camel case) capitalization, spacing, and the overall code structure.
5. Write clear comments and documentation
Comments are the best way to make your code understandable over time and communicate information with the reader.
# list that contains the inflation rate of {country} in % from 2012 to 2015
inflation_percent_list = [2, 4, 13, 15]
#function that divide the total GDP of {country} in 2023 per the number of person, #finding GDP per capita
def GDP_capita_operation():
GDP_capita = GDP / abitants
6. Manage errors correctly
To manage code errors and improve the efficiency of your debugging sessions you should use the “try” and “except” method or other error-handling techniques. It can help you to prevent crashing even if a part of your code results in an error and to locate and gain information about the problem.
try:
#run an block of code on line 21...
except:
print("An exception occurred, something is wrong on the line 21")
Conclusion – Writing clean code
In this article, we discovered 6 simple practices to improve your code clearness, leading to a vast series of benefits.
Now it’s up to you.
Which of these practices did you already use and which of them have you started using? Have they been helpful? Tell me in the comment section below.
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