How to Deal with Inherited Code
As experienced programmers we would have undertaken several web development projects. It might be on any domain –WordPress, PHP Development or even mobile app development. Most times clients approach and hire developers for new projects. Developers and coders would have to sit with the client and discuss about the exact requirements and then proceed with the development. However, sometimes clients may also hire programmers to carry on with a prior project – be it for improvement or expansion. It could also be that the client may have been at odds with previous developers and wanted to reach out to a new developer. In such a scenario, programmers are handed a completed project – perfect or not perfect – and asked to continue with development for the aforementioned reasons. Having been used to executing web development projects from scratch, this sure might prove to be a serious nightmare for programmers. This is because of the fact that each coder has a unique style of coding and will most certainly differ from yours. One wrong deviation and the entire website could become buggy, to say the least.
We at HireIndianProgrammers, consist of teams of dedicated programmers and developers. Having gained significant experience from handling an array of web development services for more than a decade, we seek to give you insights on how to deal with inherited code from a prior project, through this blogpost.
Documentation is key
While being handed over a website or any mobile app project, programmers would do well to request for the documentation for the same. A programming expert would more than make do with just documentation.
Patience is a virtue
It is true and trust us, it will reward you hugely in the near future. There are no shortcuts. Clients hiring new developers would surely expect better results than earlier. So, programmers will have to commit time and efforts in going through the entire documentation, understand the code – including structures, naming conventions, CMS, syntax and so on, add/ modify your own documentation. This stage of reading (not glancing) and understanding is crucial as it will help you in understanding the website (or mobile app), thereby allowing you to accurately carry out updates. Programmers can also familiarise themselves with all the webpages in the website.
Look out for anomalies and fix them
The very task of going through the documentation will enable coders to spot anomalies such as unused Javascript libraries, complex API etc; Clients hiring fresh programmers will, in all probability, give the entire story of the software development cycle including the possible issues with earlier versions or developers. Also, whenever programmers are fixing unknown functionalities, it is simply a good practice to add comments on it. This would greatly aid the next developer.
Adapt and be consistent
While tackling inherited code, the main objective of programmers must be to deliver a readable project having longevity. The best way to accomplish this is for programmers to adapt themselves to the system and tweak their coding habits a bit. Adding your own methods will only complicate matters for the next web development team.
Dig deeper into the system
Clients hiring dedicated programmers trust that their new website would perform better than earlier on a sustainable basis. To deliver optimal results, programmers would have to dig deeper and get their hands on more relevant data such as the kind of devices end users are using. These kind of data will help developers anticipate possible failure scenarios in testing stage of software development.Coders can make use of any speed test and design responsiveness tools to check for performance issues.
Finally, apart from these, there are always other challenges associated with inherited code. It might be tighter deadlines or scope creep. Whatever it may be, programmers would do well to focus on the work at hand, make room for improvement, display a positive attitude rather than indulging in a futile blame game.
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The Ultimate Testing Tools For Responsive Design
As a team of dedicated developers and programmers, we understand the importance of testing – one of the crucial stages in the software development cycle. Over the past decade, various clients from the U.S and other markets have time and again hired the services of coders working at HireIndianProgrammers. With that experience, we know that websites and business websites in particular cater to different segments of people. In addition to that, the proliferation of the internet powered mobiles mean that client’s website and applications must run efficiently across devices.
In this blogpost, our programmers seek to list out the top tools to test your application with ease. All these tools satisfy certain criteria in some or the other way and have different levels of user control. Experiment around and opt for the tool that is most suitable for your needs.
Screenfly
With Screenfly, programmers can test their client’s website on any screen size including desktops, tablets and mobile phones etc; Developers can also add any custom size they want. The provision of simple tools to rotate, scroll and click makes this tool an easy recommendation for us. What’s more? If you are working as a team of developers hired by a big client, you can share your designs across and work on it together in their browser itself.
Responsive Design Checker
This is a great tool for programmers preferring to manually tweaking the controls. It displays your creation i.e website into a window under different orientations without really having to changing the browser size – be it mobile or desktops. Developers will also find it useful to take screenshots for later assessment.
Google Mobile-Friendly Test
SEO is no more a technical term. Tech savvy clients who are starting their online business are very much aware that their website must follow Google’s standards so that their page ranking may improve. Clients hiring dedicated programmers expect them to invariably incorporate it. With this tool, developers and coders can see for themselves the visibility of the webpages that they have developed. This tool is also useful for programmers in that it has the mechanism to recognise those issues and places where the website might be sluggish. It allows for easy fixes. However, it is limited to only mobile devices.
Responsive Web Design Testing Tool
The emphasis of this free tool is ease of use. This simple tool allows developers to type in the URL in the space provided and compare your output across orientations within a few clicks. Developers can also use this tool for testing in a set environment.
Lambda Test
With two versions of this tool available for programmers – the lite one and the paid one – LambdaTest is one of the better options in this list for the following reasons. In addition to making it possible for programmers to take screenshots, this tool can achieve a lot more. It allows the programmers to test in a holistic way checking all parameters – compatibility, user experience and so on in a real time scenario. The paid version enables programmers to debug errors, if any.
Designmodo Responsive Test
This tool is loaded with a lot of features and toggles. Another reason for developers to really check out this design testing tool is the clean interface. Programmers hired along tight deadlines will find this small thing to be a boon. The free tool also has colour accessibility options and bootstrap templates to improve the overall website design.
XRespond
XRespond allows programmers to check the consistency of their websites. This will be especially useful in cases where the client has a large base of customers of different kinds. For instance, suppose a client is hiring a programmer or hiring a developer to develop or improve an e-commerce website. Now, regular customers do online shopping from different devices, increasingly more of smartphones – be it android or iOS. In such a scenario, programmers would find it extremely useful to test their design responsiveness across devices at the same time.
Hope this article gave programmers of different calibre an idea on how to go about choosing a good tool for testing design responsiveness.
To hire our programmers for any web development projects, contact us here.