What are the best practices for evaluating code quality in different programming languages?

Code quality is a crucial factor for the success of any software project. It affects the performance, maintainability, security, and reliability of your code. However, code quality is not a one-size-fits-all concept. Different programming languages have different features, paradigms, and standards that influence how you measure and improve code quality. In this article, you will learn some of the best practices for evaluating code quality in different programming languages, such as Java, Python, Ruby, and JavaScript.

1 Use language-specific tools

One of the easiest ways to assess code quality is to use tools that are designed for your specific programming language. These tools can help you detect syntax errors, code smells, bugs, vulnerabilities, and other issues that affect code quality. For example, you can use tools like Checkstyle, PMD, and SonarQube for Java, Pylint, Flake8, and Bandit for Python, RuboCop, Reek, and Brakeman for Ruby, and ESLint, JSHint, and Snyk for JavaScript. These tools can also help you enforce coding standards, style guides, and best practices for your language.

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Eldar Sehayek

Software Architect, Engineer | Ex-Microsoft
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Code quality adherence using automated tools that run as pull-request gate or pre-commit hooks provide a very streamlined and useful way to maintain high code quality level. Code Formatters are essential, they auto format the code into recognizable structure. Examples: black & isort for Python, Prettier for JavaScript/TypeScript. Code Linters are also essential and there's great benefit to use one with auto-fixes enabled via command line and IDE "fix here/all/etc." commands; auto-fixes are the difference between code linter increasing quality with velocity or becoming frustrating and maintainance overhead. Examples: ESLint for JavaScript/TypeScript, flake8 for Python, Roslyn Analyzers for C#. Tip: Explore plugins of code linters.

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2 Apply common quality metrics

Another way to evaluate code quality is to apply some common metrics that can be used across different programming languages. These metrics can help you quantify and compare aspects of code quality, such as complexity, readability, modularity, testability, and maintainability. For example, you can use metrics like cyclomatic complexity, lines of code, cohesion, coupling, code coverage, and technical debt. However, you should be careful not to rely too much on these metrics, as they can be misleading or misinterpreted. You should always use them in conjunction with other methods and human judgment.

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Eldar Sehayek

Software Architect, Engineer | Ex-Microsoft
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Based on my experience I find that quality metrics are useful to apply in very specific contexts to not become a burden for maintainance which encourages ill-advised behavior. For example, PR gate to block PRs with less testing code coverage will lead to people writing meaningless unit tests just to get coverage up, which makes things worse by creating bad unit tests. I find quality metrics to be most useful as non-blocking, for example showing code coverage changes on a PR without blocking, showing cyclomatic complexity warnings without blocking. With that we can generate a weekly report of quality metrics changes, and/or maintain dashboards, and engineering managers can use that to track quality and talk with relevant people.

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3 Consider the programming paradigm

A third way to evaluate code quality is to consider the programming paradigm of your language. A programming paradigm is a set of principles, concepts, and techniques that guide how you write and structure your code. Different programming paradigms have different advantages, disadvantages, and trade-offs that affect code quality. For example, object-oriented programming emphasizes encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism, which can improve modularity and reuse. Functional programming emphasizes pure functions, immutability, and higher-order functions, which can improve readability and testability. Procedural programming emphasizes sequential steps, variables, and subroutines, which can improve performance and simplicity.

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Eldar Sehayek

Software Architect, Engineer | Ex-Microsoft
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When writing code in a programming language one should align with one of the ruling paradigms to get best support from code formatters, linters, alignment with open source libraries, etc. For example, in Scala the paradigm is Functional OOP, in C# & Java it's OOP with Functional features yet mostly non-Functional style, in Python it's very recommended to apply static typing however multiple paradigms are supported. In most well-known languages there isn't a single ruling paradigm, e.g. for Python and JavaScript one can go Functional without mutations or not, therefore choosing one and adhering to it will allow using paradigm specific code linters (e.g. prevent loops to enforce Functional) and allow code reviewers to have clear focus.

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4 Learn from the community

A fourth way to evaluate code quality is to learn from the community of your programming language. The community consists of other developers, experts, mentors, and resources that can help you improve your code quality. You can learn from the community by following best practices, conventions, and recommendations that are widely accepted and adopted by your language. You can also learn from the community by reading and reviewing code from other developers, especially those who are experienced and reputable in your language. You can also learn from the community by seeking feedback, advice, and support from your peers, colleagues, and mentors.

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Eldar Sehayek

Software Architect, Engineer | Ex-Microsoft
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The best way I found to learn about code quality, adopt best practices and learn how to evaluate code quality was to read open-source code for well-established and widely adoped frameworks & libraries - stand on the shoulders of giants. I learnt alot about unit testing and design and code linters that way. In C#: Json.Net, SimpleInjector great examples that comes to mind In Python: FastAPI and Pydantic great examples that come to mind In TypeScript/JavaScript: React and lodash great examples come to mind

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5 Experiment and adapt

A fifth way to evaluate code quality is to experiment and adapt your code to different situations and requirements. Code quality is not a static or absolute concept. It depends on the context, purpose, and audience of your code. What works well for one project, language, or developer may not work well for another. Therefore, you should always be willing to experiment and adapt your code to different scenarios and challenges. You should also be open to learning new skills, techniques, and tools that can help you improve your code quality.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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What are the best practices for evaluating code quality in different programming languages?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Use language-specific tools

2 Apply common quality metrics

3 Consider the programming paradigm

4 Learn from the community

5 Experiment and adapt

6 Here’s what else to consider

System Development

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What are the best practices for evaluating code quality in different programming languages?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Use language-specific tools

2 Apply common quality metrics

3 Consider the programming paradigm

4 Learn from the community

5 Experiment and adapt

6 Here’s what else to consider

System Development

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