Coding Habits
21 Sep 2017When you are first learning how to program (probably starting off with things like “Hello World!”, variable assigning, or simple arithmetic), from the very start you are taught the importance of syntax. From misspelling methods or variables to missing that blasted semi-colon that seems to ninja itself out of our code, you can have the theory of the language down but find yourself stumped at why your code isn’t working because of these little mistakes!
I agree that coding standards in fact DOES help out in learning a new language because of the way that the compiler is strict as it is. This is like learning how to play a new musical instrument, before you actually start playing it, you need to figure out things like how to hold it, where you put your hands or fingers, or even having good posture. You can be the most amazing bassoon player in the world but when it comes down to performance, you find yourself unable to play because you have bad hand positioning or have bad posture. The way to prevent from doing that is to practice good habits. if we form good habits in our coding, we are less likely to look for that missing semi-colon.
After my first week with ESLint on Intellij, I wasn’t having as much trouble as I normally do. Even though you could check through the compilation itself, it was nice to have an error checker see if there’s anything wrong with my code before compiling. It was like having a Microsoft Office Word spell check and grammar but for programmers. The green check mark is pretty helpful because again, I can see if my code is written sufficiently for the compiler. Overall, It took me a while to get used to the Intellij assignments because of learning how to setup the right settings or having github desktop work on the side.