I had always heard about writing good, clean and pretty code - but I never really understood what it meant. I knew it had something to do with readability. And possibly a profession pride thing, too.
Well, I was right, but it was more, and I did not know what it actually *meant* to write clean code - and how it affected the developers writing and reading the code.
I am not going to explain how to write clean code, because I am not a master at it. I want to teach it, but for now I will just share my starting point.
I believe that my journey to Clean Code was a pretty good one. It worked really well for me anyhow.
I will show you the two things I used to get started with Clean Code:
You gotta want it!
The first thing you need is the wish, the need, the desire to be great; a real craving to be a professional that write awesome code.
You need to want to write clean code.
If you don’t got that, it won’t matter. Your passion for the craft is going to drive your learning all the way. You won’t be compelled to write truly clean code if you don’t care about it.
You need “The book”!
The second thing you need is a book from Robert C. Martin (aka. Uncle Bob) called “Clean Code”:
http://www.amazon.com/Clean-Code-Handbook-Software-Craftsmanship/dp/0132350882
Really read this book. Take notes.
Practice everything you learn in you every-day code.
I promise you, your code will become much better very quickly.
I got this book a year ago, when I started working as a software engineer. It was the best training I could’ve hoped for.
“Clean Code” was a transforming book for me. It is without a doubt the single most influential book I have ever read on software development. If you start looking around, you will find that many others are also praising this book.
I am not getting anything for writing this. I wrote this, because I think every software developer would benefit greatly from reading this book. I also think your fellow developers (the other people that is going to read your code) would benefit greatly from *you* reading this book.
And one more time:
Practice everything you learn from “Clean Code” in you every-day code.
It is how you learn, and how you become a clean code practitioner (aka. a professional).
Seriously, just do it.
Follow me on Twitter: @gjermundbjaanes