New Programmer's Survival Manual

Tip 1

Beat Up Your Code

[​​White Belt] As soon as you write production code, you need to prove it can take a beating.

You might think that writing solid code is an obvious job requirement. It’s not like the job post said “Wanted: programmer with good attitude, team player, foosball skills. Optional: writes solid code.” Yet so many programs have bugs. What gives?

Before we get into detailed discussions of day-to-day practices for assuring code quality, let’s discuss what it means to write solid code. It’s not just a list of practices; it’s a mind-set. You must beat up your code, and the product as a whole, before it goes out to customers. ...