SOLID Principles: A set of object-oriented design principles that make code more maintainable and flexible.
S - Single Responsibility Principle
O - Open/Closed Principle
L - Liskov Substitution Principle
I - Interface Segregation Principle
D - Dependency Inversion Principle
DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself): Strive to eliminate code redundancy, keeping your codebase more organized and easier to update.
KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid): Complexity is the enemy of maintainability and adds potential for bugs. Favor straightforward design and implementation whenever possible.
Software Architecture Patterns
MVC (Model-View-Controller): Separates code into data (model), presentation (view), and logic (controller), leading to better organization.
Layered Architecture: Divides your system into logical layers (e.g., presentation layer, business logic layer, data access layer), promoting modularity.
Microservices: Decomposes applications into small, independent services that communicate with each other – great for scalability and agility.
Coding Practices
Clean Code: Focuses on code readability, maintainability, and elegance. Strive for meaningful variable and function names, consistent formatting, and good commenting practices.
Refactoring: The process of restructuring existing code without changing its external behavior. This helps improve clarity and efficiency over time.
Testing
Unit Testing: Isolates and tests the smallest possible components of your code, ensuring individual parts work as expected.
Integration Testing: Verifies how different units or modules of your software work together.
End-to-End Testing: Simulates real user scenarios to ensure the whole system meets expectations.
Version Control
Git (or similar systems): Essential for tracking code changes, collaboration, and the ability to revert to earlier versions if needed. Git is incredibly powerful and a fundamental skill for software developers.
Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD):
CI/CD Pipelines: Automate the process of building, testing, and deploying software. This leads to faster feedback cycles and more frequent, reliable releases.
Agile Methodologies
Scrum, Kanban, etc.: Agile approaches emphasize flexibility, iteration, and collaboration, in contrast to traditional "waterfall" development. They're suited to projects where requirements might shift over time.