1. www.teratech.com 1/20 1 How to become a Guru Coder Michael Smith, TeraTech, Inc. michael@teratech.com http://www.teratech.com 301-424-3903 x110 Copyright TeraTech 2003

2. www.teratech.com 2/20 2 Overview What makes a smart coder? Brains or communications skills? Does commenting matter to real programmers? My Code is my Comment. What tips can you learn to become a true programming guru?

3. www.teratech.com 3/20 3 Speaker Information Who am I? Michael Smith President of TeraTech, Inc Rockville MD http://www.teratech.com/ ttWebReportServer, CFXGraphicserver MDCFUG, CFUN-03, Fusebox Conf Articles in CFDJ, Fusion Authority Winner CFDJ award Best Consulting

4. www.teratech.com 4/20 4 Programming Experience 22 years programming 7 years with ColdFusion 4 years with Fusebox Also work with SQL, JavaScript, HTML, VB, Oracle, Access Teach one-on-one and custom classes On site and custom development Fusebox and Process Methodology

5. www.teratech.com 5/20 5 Does character matter? Studies show that 85% of a programmers success is due to human factors rather than pure technical skills.

6. www.teratech.com 6/20 6 Humble My brain can’t take in the whole program at once Use coding crutches Egoless programming Code reviews Ask for help if stuck > 15 minutes Murphy’s law

7. www.teratech.com 7/20 7 Curious How can I improve? Constantly learning Experiment Problem solving and planning skills Case studies - Programming Pearls RTFM and magazines, websites

8. www.teratech.com 8/20 8 Honesty I don’t know I was wrong Fix bugs rather than covering up Understand code before you run it True status reports – including “bad” news Stand by accurate estimates

9. www.teratech.com 9/20 9 Communication skills WORM code, not WMRO code Write code for humans to read, not for computer to run Clear emails

10. www.teratech.com 10/20 10 Coding conventions Save having to think about that part of code Variable naming Indenting Case Avoid poor constructs http://www.cfug-md.org/articles.cfm#code

11. www.teratech.com 11/20 11 Coding conventions Save having to think about that part of code Variable naming Indenting Clarifies meaning Case Avoid poor constructs http://www.cfug-md.org/articles.cfm#code

12. www.teratech.com 12/20 12 Lazy Write smart code instead of repetition of code Write or use a tool instead of repeating steps by hand Macros in your code editor Use a pre-built tool instead of reinventing the wheel

13. www.teratech.com 13/20 13 Prioritize Plan before you Code before you Debug Think before you Document before you Code before you Run

14. www.teratech.com 14/20 14 Not as important Persistence – pigheaded Experience – is 10 years of experience or 10 x 1 year’s experience? Jolt programming – all nighters

15. www.teratech.com 15/20 15 Good habits Code and understand before running End loops before coding the “filling” Don’t go long with code “broken” Plan before coding Figure out how you will test code before coding Take a break; sleep on problems “Telephone” review of problem to a buddy

16. www.teratech.com 16/20 16 Reduce complexity Avoid global data Short routines, few parameters Limited nesting Data driven vs complex logic Named constants – rather than magic numbers

17. www.teratech.com 17/20 17 Modularize to simplify Hide details – black box De-Couple routines Cohesion – do one thing well

18. www.teratech.com 18/20 18 Code for humans to read WORM code is easier to: Understand Review Less errors Faster to debug Easier to modify Faster to develop overall Sets a good habit

19. www.teratech.com 19/20 19 Defensive coding If it can go wrong it will go wrong Check parameters exist and data type Throw errors if assumptions not met Always code the ELSE part of IF

20. www.teratech.com 20/20 20 Debugging If you can prove your algorithm must work It is less effort to Debug. Test Parameters at and beyond their limits. (Some tests must show a failure) Keep it Simple, Stupid (Kiss) If you can’t remember what it does, how can it be maintained?

21. www.teratech.com 21/20 21 Resouces “Code Complete” – Steve McConnell “The Mythical Man-Month” by Frederick Brooks “Peopleware” by Tom Demarco, et al

22. www.teratech.com 22/20 22 Questions? Email me at michael@teratech.com