Benefits of Coding Standards
09 Feb 2023Intro to ESLint
IntelliJ with the ESLint standard has proved to be effective, if somewhat nitpicky. Having style errors show up as big scary red checkmarks immediately makes me think that there is some syntax error that will prevent the code from running at all. In time, however, I believe it will prove useful as the particularity will force me to learn it well and become accustomed to it. But why do coding standards matter in the first place?
Coding Standards in General
One of the most important reasons to adhere to coding standards is the ease of readability. In any project worked on as a team, being able to collaborate is key. It wouldn’t be much of a team project if everybody just worked on their own section. But to fully collaborate, everyone on the team needs to be able to read what has been written by others. This is where coding standards come into play. By following a set of rules about how to write code, it becomes legible and understandable to everyone on the team.
Another benefit of following coding standards is that it can help with learning a new language. Learning by repetition is much more difficult if you’re not actually repeating the same basic operations. Coding standards serve to force you to do things in one certain way, and help you build good habits.