To begin, what does “clean code” mean? Clean coding implies that you Learn JS and write code first and foremost for your future self and coworkers, not for the computer.
A well-written piece of code is simple to comprehend and maintain. It complies with the three R’s of software architecture:
- Refactorability
- Reuse
- Readability
All of this highlights the need for sharing and reusing components across projects. Therefore, let us delve deeper and examine valuable tips for producing better code but first, let’s understand JavaScript.
What exactly is JavaScript?
JavaScript is a programming language for computers. It is a lightweight component of web pages that enables client-side scripts to interact with users and create dynamic sites.
JavaScript’s Advantages
The following are the advantages of utilizing JavaScript:
- Server contact is minimized since user input can be validated prior to the page being sent to the server. This reduces server traffic, which means your server is less stressed.
- Visitors receive immediate responses. They are not required to wait for the page to refresh to determine if they have missed something.
- You can develop interfaces that respond when the user hovers the mouse over them or activates them using the keyboard.
- You can use JavaScript to incorporate drag-and-drop components and sliders to provide your site users with a Rich Interface.
Best Tips To Write Clean Code
1. Isolate your code
The most important thing anyone can propose for maintaining a clean and understandable codebase is to split distinct portions of logic (often functions) by topic. If you write a function, it should default to having a single purpose and should not perform many tasks concurrently.
Additionally, you should avoid generating side effects, which generally means that you should not modify anything defined outside your function. You pass parameters to functions; everything else should be avoided.
Return new values if you wish to obtain something from the function.
2. Modularization
Naturally, you can organize numerous functions into a single module (and/or class, if desired) if they are utilized in a similar manner or perform similar tasks. For instance, if you have a large number of distinct calculations to perform, break them down into separate steps (functions) that can be chained.
Nevertheless, all of these functions can be declared in a single file (module). The following is an example in JavaScript:
If you’re building frontend JavaScript, you should absolutely utilize default exports for critical objects and named exports for secondary items.
3. Scarcity of data
Do not provide data that you do not require. Again, this may require a bit more work when configuring your functions.
However, it will undoubtedly result in a better understandable codebase. Knowing precisely which values are used in a certain location is really valuable.
4. Limitations on line and indentation
In large files where there are nearly 3,000 lines of code, finding logic chunks is really difficult.
As a result, you should limit the size of your file to a fixed number of lines. Most people often keep their files to less than 100 lines of code. Occasionally, it is difficult to segment files, and they will grow to 200–300 lines and, on rare occasions, 400 lines.
Above this point, the file becomes excessively cluttered and difficult to manage. Create new modules and directories as desired. Your project should have the appearance of a forest with trees (module sections) and branches (groups of modules and module files).
5. Utilize prettier
Collaboration requires a consistent style guide and formatting. ESLint includes a large ruleset that you can tweak to meet your own requirements. Additionally, there is eslint —fix, which corrects some, but not all, mistakes.
Rather than that, format your code with Prettier. Thus, developers are free to focus on producing high-quality code rather than on code formatting. Consistent appearance and formatting are guaranteed.
6. Utilize descriptive variable names
In an ideal world, a variable’s name would be determined by its content. The following recommendations will assist you in declaring meaningful variable names.
JavaScript is an extremely forgiving programming language. It’s simple to write code that runs but contains bugs.
Consider the following: Temporary Variables
- Temporary variables are used to store the results of computations in the interim.
- We should not take them lightly, as they remain part of the code.
- It is preferable if we provide temporary variables with descriptive names.
We should call things descriptively and refrain from using double negatives.The only exceptions are loop indexes, which frequently have names that begin with letters.Constants should be all uppercase and separated by underscores.
7. Functions
Typically, functions perform some kind of activity. Programmers describe this with verbs such as convert or exhibit.
It is a good practise to begin your functions with a verb, such as convertCurrency or displayUserName.
8. Use async / await
Callbacks are the most difficult to read – even more so when nested. Even for novices or those transitioning from other languages, this will be extremely beneficial.
However, ensure that you comprehend the notion and do not utilize it carelessly.
9. Eliminate console
Console.log is an excellent method of debugging – it’s straightforward, quick, and effective. While there are more advanced tools available, every developer still utilizes this one.
If you fail to clean up logs on a regular basis, your console will soon become a mess. Then there are the logs you want to maintain in your codebase, such as warnings and errors.
To solve this issue, you can continue to use console.log for debugging purposes, but for persistent logs, you should use a library such as loglevel or winston.
Additionally, you can use ESLint to generate warnings for console statements. Thus, you can easily search for console and delete these statements globally.
10. Utilize Object Destruction
Object destructuring enables you to rapidly assign selected fields from an object to a variable. It minimizes the lines of code required to extract the object’s properties and makes your code more readable.
Object destructuring eliminates the need for numerous explicit variable declarations, which is quite handy in cases where:
- Utilization of various characteristics contained within an object.
- Multiple instances of the same attribute.
- Utilizing an object’s deeply nested property.
Conclusion
As developers, we should always produce clean code since it improves readability and makes the code easier to grasp for you and your team.
You can learn about how to write better and cleaner code by taking up a JavaScript tutorial and setting yourself apart from your competitors. I hope those tips help you enhance your code’s readability.
