Five Tips for Reducing Bugs

javascript python go java kotlin October 25, 2021

BetterProgramming, a Medium site, has published “5 Tips for Reducing Bugs in Software Development Projects”, with some advice that seems targeted primarily at less-strongly-typed languages like NodeJS or Python, but most of the advice would work for other languages as well.

The tips are:

  • Think twice before using a dependency
  • Retest everything even after a simple refactoring
  • Avoid keeping quick patches in the main codebase
  • Write clean code with a good code style guide
  • Rethink your error handling strategy

Some of these apply in different strengths for different languages and platforms; in Java, for example, the error handling strategy (exceptions) are baked into the philosophy of the language, so changing the exception strategy can be difficult at best, often resorting to a simple decision of whether to use checked exceptions or not.

Likewise, for Java, dependencies are very much a core strength of the ecosystem, and the overall design strategy Java encourages tends to minimize the dangers present in relying on external libraries. Compare that to Javascript, where external dependencies’ changes can ripple through the entire ecosystem and negatively affect multiple codebases with simple changes.

Yet the advice is well-framed.

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