Essential Principles for Robust Software Engineering

In the ever-evolving world of software engineering, adhering to best practices is crucial for building robust, scalable, and maintainable systems. Here, we delve into 20 golden principles that every software engineer should follow to ensure high-quality code and efficient development processes.

1. Code Reviews

Before merging any code, it should be reviewed by at least one other person. This helps catch potential bugs, ensures code quality, and promotes knowledge sharing among team members.

2. SOLID Principles

Follow the SOLID principles to design software that is easy to maintain and extend. These principles help create systems that are robust, scalable, and manageable.

3. DRY and KISS

Keep your code DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) and KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Avoid duplicating code to reduce inconsistencies and strive for simplicity to make the code more understandable and maintainable.

4. Injectable Configuration

Configuration should be injectable, typically using environment variables. Hardcoding values makes the code less flexible and harder to manage in different environments.

5. Encapsulate Complexity

Hide complexity within functions and avoid scattering it across the entire codebase. This makes the system easier to understand and maintain.

6. Avoid Magic Numbers

Avoid using magic numbers (e.g., 10, 20, 30) in your code. Instead, define them as constants or configuration parameters to make the code more readable and easier to update.

7. YAGNI (You Aren’t Gonna Need It)

Don’t over-engineer your solutions. Focus on what you need now and avoid building features based on speculative future requirements.

8. Test Coverage

Aim for around 80% test coverage for new code. However, the true measure of test effectiveness is:

• Rare occurrence of bugs in production.
• Confidence in making changes without fear of causing production issues.

9. Security and Scalability

Consider security and scalability from the start. Security should be a fundamental part of the development process, not an afterthought.

10. Documentation

Document all major changes and update the README file for any feature modifications. Proper documentation should be part of the pull request (PR) process.

11. High Availability

Ensure your services are highly available. Avoid relying on a single pod or machine for deploying production instances.

12. Design for Failure

Design systems with the expectation that failures will happen. Focus on building resilient systems that can recover gracefully from failures.

13. Monitoring and Alerting

Implement comprehensive monitoring and alerting. Track CPU usage, memory, disk, latencies, and other critical metrics to quickly identify and address issues.

14. Relevant Logging

Log relevant information to aid in debugging. Good logging practices can significantly reduce the time spent diagnosing and fixing issues.

15. Database Choices

Choose databases based on access patterns, scalability, and ease of adoption. The right database can greatly enhance the performance and manageability of your system.

16. Caching

Use caching to reduce database load and improve response times when database latencies are unacceptable.

17. Queues

Use queues to delegate tasks and handle high throughput efficiently. Kafka is a popular choice for creating scalable, loosely-coupled systems.

18. Community-Backed Technologies

Favor technologies supported by large communities or organizations (e.g., CNCF, Apache). These technologies are more likely to be secure, well-maintained, and supported in the long term.

19. Database per Microservice

Adopt a database-per-microservice architecture to ensure separation of concerns and resource isolation. This helps prevent resource contention among different services.

20. API Aggregation

Use an API aggregator layer for APIs that involve calling multiple services. This simplifies client interactions and improves system performance.

Conclusion

By adhering to these 20 principles, software engineers can build systems that are not only functional but also resilient, scalable, and maintainable. These principles serve as a guideline for best practices, helping teams deliver high-quality software efficiently and effectively. Implementing these practices can lead to better code quality, fewer bugs in production, and a more manageable codebase in the long run.

Cheers,

Sim