Over the past few weeks of this class, we went over how to set up and use ESLint. ESLint is a utility feature or plugin to “lint” through Javascript code to enforce clean concise code as well as avoiding bugs. This type of feature/plugin is new to me and took a bit of trial and error to actually understand what is happening to get it up and running with my code. In the past, I have never really taken the time to abide or even learn about coding standards. Through other courses, I never received any negative feedback specifically about the formatting of my code of coding standards. I always assumed it shouldn’t matter too much in a school setting at least. I always thought that there should be some standard to avoid spaghetti or messy code and I am very happy to be using ESLint to keep things consist. I have been enjoying using ESLint, I find that the error messages it provides are a nice way for me to learn to avoid the errors I commonly get and I believe this is making me much better at programming by keeping my code in check which I highly value learning Javascript. I feel that my code looks much better and if I had to ask for help, I believe it would be much better for the person reading the code to understand what is going on.
In addition to working with ESLint we have also have been learning to work with the IDE IntelliJ. IntelliJ has been really nice to work with and the set-up process was quite simple by following the informative video by our professor. I have been enjoying using and also see the value in learning the ins and outs of how a specific IDE functions. In the past I have used JGrasp for Java but I found that it was a very lightweight IDE and mostly served as a way to compile Java code. Comparing that experience to the few weeks I have had with IntelliJ has shown me there is much more to learn and the more comfortable I can be with a specific IDE will drastically improve how much I can learn in coding as well as the quality and quantity of my work in a timelier manner.
I have found that coding standards can vary and different standards have value in the rules that create them. I plan to study a bit deeper into this topic outside of class. The class TA Branden recommended a cool book titled “Best Practices of Spell Design” relating to coding standards that I plan to purchase. Also, in the past week of learning about coding standards, my TikTok feed has started showing me a few accounts with short videos demonstrating different conduct in coding standards to abide by. I’ve been finding these videos interesting and the short, less than a minute, video keeps the information quick and easy.
Overall, the coding standards topic is very interesting to me and I find value in keeping code in a status quo. Using a standard seems to be a very good way to learn a programming language, in my opinion.