Best Practices for Writing Clean, Maintainable Code

Clean Code, as the name implies, can easily be read, understood, and maintained. 

The developer follows a set of principles and practices to ensure the code is clean, consistent, secure, and self-explanatory.  

These principles and practices include 

1) Consistent Formatting - to give it a neat appearance

2) Focused Function - each piece of code does just one thing  

3) Adding Clear Comments - so other developers can easily understand the nitty-gritties of SAST and DAST security testing practices and take it forward from there.

Such codebases are easier to debug and maintain.

The Human Side of Clean Code

Think of clean code as a clean copy—minus any jargon, short sentences, and machine and human-friendly. Code clarity is crucial since developers spend more time reading code than writing it. 

It also supports future-proofing. When developers drop a project and return to it in later months, clean code acts as a well-written manual, helping them progress in their project without many delays. 
 

A Quick Note on Security Testing Strategies (SAST and DAST)

SAST (Static Application Security Testing) checks the code for security issues before the program runs.

DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing) checks for security problems while running the program.

Including these strategies helps make the code clean and secure. To see how to implement these security practices in your organization, consult leading cybersecurity experts offering SAST and DAST solutions. 

Why Clean Code Matters for Security and Compliance

Clean code is easier to read and maintain, making it easier to spot potential security flaws. 

Such codes are essential in regulated industries where there are stricter measures and codebases need to pass audits.

Benefits of Clean, Maintainable Code

Clean code is easier to read and maintain. More importantly, it keeps the app developers updated so that they can quickly participate in the code development process. Here are some reasons why clean code is crucial.  

• Faster Development Cycle: Clean code is synonymous with clarity, which makes grasping the code's functionality much easier and leads to more rapid development. 

• Efficient Collaboration: By writing clean code and following the established code standards, developers can easily understand each other’s work and collaborate more efficiently.

• Speedy Issue Resolution: Clean code is simple. It spotlights all the critical sections in the codebase, making it easier for developers to identify and mitigate issues.  

• Better Quality and Reliability: Clean code leverages established coding standards, resulting in well-structured code. This reduces the risk of errors, ensuring better quality and reliable software going forward.    

Now that you know the benefits of clean code, let’s learn about a few best practices and principles for writing clean code.

Best Practices for Writing Clean, Maintainable Code

These 15 best practices help developers with clean, consistent, modifiable, scalable, and maintainable code. 

1. Use Meaningful Names 

Variables, functions, classes, and other identifiers should avoid abbreviations and cryptic names and instead use meaningful and descriptive names that reflect their purpose and functionality. 

2. Keep Functions Super Short

Keep functions short and sweet, that is a maximum of 20 lines and they should focus on a single task only, which makes them easier to understand and maximizes the reusability of code.  

3. Adopt a Coding Style to Ensure Consistency

Use a coding style guide to ensure consistency in spacing, indentation, and line breaks, to enhance readability and visual structure.  

4. Avoid Complicating Coding and Deep Nesting 

Avoid overcomplicating code with complex logic. Avoid deep nesting. Instead, break down complex logic into smaller, manageable functions, a principle emphasized in web development frameworks.

5. Avoid Overcommenting 

Use comments wherever required to explain the purpose of the code. Avoid overcommenting, as clean codes are supposed to be self-explanatory.  

6. Visual Separation of Code Blocks

Use whitespace to separate code blocks visually. 

7. Reuse Code

Reusing code avoids duplication and makes it more maintainable and efficient. It also reduces the risk of errors and bugs, as code modification has to be carried out in one place, and the changes will be reflected everywhere. 

8. Write Tests Before You Code 

Before starting the coding work, write tests, including unit tests, integration tests, and end-to-end tests. This will improve code design and testability. To test your code, use Jest (JavaScript) or PyTest (Python).

9. Refactor Frequently 

Refactor your code on the fly. Revisit the sections that are complex and harder to grasp. 

10. Break Systems into Manageable Chunks 

Break down complex systems into smaller, manageable chunks with clear interfaces. 

11. Speedy Error Handling  

Immediate and efficient error handling to make the code robust and predictable.

12. Use Version Control 

Use version control systems like Git to track changes, collaborate, and roll back mistakes easily. The blog “What Does a DevOps Engineer Do?” spotlights Git workflows and branching strategies that contribute to clean, auditable code. 

13. Avoid Hard-Corded Values 

Substitute hard-coded values with variables or constants combined with descriptive names. 

14. Use Modern Tools 

Use modern tools like VSCode or IntelliJ, which have features such as auto-completion, formatting, and more to ensure clean code.  

15. Use Style Guides

Use coding standards and style guides to ensure uniformity in naming, spacing, and comments. 

• Google Style Guide for JavaScript
• PEP 8 for Python 

• Airbnb’s React/JavaScript Guidelines 

   

  Tools That Help Enforce Clean Code

   

  These four tools help developers enforce clean code practices automatically saving time and reducing errors in the long run. 

• Linters: Like spellcheckers for copy, Linter helps highlight errors and bad practices in real time.
• FormattersZZ: Automatically clean up your code to follow style guides.
• Smart Editors: Tools like VSCode and IntelliJ offer suggestions, shortcuts, and real-time feedback to help write better code. These DevOps-assisted tools support cleaner coding with feedback and automation. 

• Git for Version Control: What "track changes" is for writers, Git is for developers. It helps teams collaborate, see history, and recover from mistakes easily.

   

  Code Reviews: A Peer-Editing Process

   

  Like writers review each other's work, developers should review each other's code to ensure it is readable and maintainable.   

Regular peer reviews lead to cleaner code bases and stronger, cohesive teams.

Wrapping Up

Clean, maintainable code is no longer an option; it’s necessary. It ensures that your software is functional, maintainable, and open to scalability and collaboration. Use meaningful names, keep functions short and focused, and commit to refactoring often. The result will be instinctive clean code with long-term results for any project.   

However, beware of overcleaning your code as it will have an opposite effect. In other words, it will make your code indecipherable, giving a hard time to developers as they’ll have to constantly check many files to make simple code changes.