Practice Makes Perfect

06 Feb 2018

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Practice makes perfect?

Last week for my software engineering class, we were introduced to the IDE IntelliJ in conjunction with ESlint, a code linter. Using an IDE felt different in the sense that I would have code errors pointed out for me. In my previous semester, we used the console to compile our programs for ICS 212. I thought it would be great that I finally got to switch back to the IDE but I was wrong. ESlint to my surprise not only spots errors but it also forces you to follow strict coding standards that don’t effect functionality but the looks of the code. At first I found myself pulling my hair out everytime I saw the red X meaning that there was an ESlint error. After a while I became more aware of these coding standards and started doing it by myself. Simple things include ending a file with a newline, to putting a space before “{}”s. I am still a beginner when it comes to programming and Eslint is forcing me to code according to proper code standards. I feel in the end using ESlint will make me a better coder because proper practice makes perfect. I am glad my professor is making me use this tool while I am still new to IDEs because I feel I am more impressionable now than I will ever be and I want to get in the proper practice.