Document Document Document

The inspiration goes back to an old saying that I have heard a lot about documenting your code. Always code as if the person who ends up maintaining your code is a violent psychopath who knows where you live.

While this may seem extreme it is good practice. When you are working on a particular problem, it is very import to document your code, and be concerned with readability first. Once your code is readable, it will be easy to go back, and refactor your code to take advantage of performance boosts.

It is also a good idea to never delete your old code, only comment it out. Don’t worry about comments having any effects on your code, Compilers ignore that stuff anyway.

When coding, test often, and through, Don’t waste time on trying to make things work the first time. Testing that things work as they should is more important, and more timesaving, than spending hours writing code, and then missing a small piece of semantics that breaks the whole thing.

Another thing about taking your time, commenting out your old code is important so people that use your code later will be able to see your thought process, and they may be able to improve on things, or you may just end up teaching them something that makes it possible for them to achieve great things. All of these things are best for the community as a whole.

Getting a working prototype fast is also a major drive of most development projects also, I am not recommending writing sloppy code, but write code that is easy to understand, and document it as much as it needs. Don’t get hung up on the individual trees, concentrate on your portion of the forest first, after your portion works, then start trimming the branches, and work on growing and grooming your section.

One of the most important things to remember about the quote at the top, is you may be that person who has to deal with your younger self’s code. Cover your self from the beginning, and make sure you do a proper job, that no one will have a problem working, modifying, and using your code. The last thing you want, is to have someone go back after you, and rewrite everything you have already done.

Code Responsibly, Document completely, and your life will be better for it!!!