No One Likes Lint
10 Feb 2022“OCD”
Let’s face it no one enjoys having lint in our laundry. THANK GOD for lint catchers! This same sentiment is paralleled with my opinions on ESLint and coding standards. I have always been a little “OCD” as many might say, storing folders within folders, meticulously labeling, and rainbow color coding everything on all of my devices. This extends further to the way I organize my pens, items, and write my notes. I’m known as the “notes girl” by many of my friends.
Checkstyle
As someone who had practically no prior experience with coding, I knew nothing about coding standards, let alone Java, so going into my first introductory coding class in ICS 111 was overwhelming. Honestly I was more worried about my code working rather than if it looked nice or if the run time was atrocious. My first introduction to coding standards came about in ICS 211, using checkstyle to catch coding standard errors in Java with the Eclipse IDE. I found it very convenient that I could easily see the errors in my code as well as coding standard errors. In a way it has alleviated some of my anxiety towards coding the “correct way”, eliminating one squiggly line at a time. Before learning proper coding standards I had already been adopting some of the habits I had observed form my professor and TA in class such as indentation. However, it still didn’t look exactly the same, my indentations were bigger but I was still using the tab key, it wasn’t until a littler later that I learned about 2 space indentation, relieving my running thoughts about why it looked so strange.
Now with my introduction to ESLint, I see it as a very useful tool to help keep clean formatted code. The advantages of having standardized code go beyond helping ourselves read code, it extends to anyone in a professional setting to understand, navigate, and positively contribute to the code without difficulty. It is easy to see how useful this mechanic is when working in groups, creating uniformity and a professional look, which can be easily understood by non-contributors as well. A parallel found in everyday life is using MLA or APA formatting, where there are a set of fundamental rules for in order to fit the criteria in a professional and academic setting, a standard. If you were to make a powerpoint to present to your boss or a panel you would want to keep a consistent theme, use the same font, and include relevant information. One last example is that you would write sentences like this. anD nOt LiKe ThIS.
Final Verdict
My final verdict is that I enjoy having ESLint. Being able to see the green check mark in the top right corner feels rewarding / accomplished even if the journey there is strenuous. The consistency that it provides makes for a smoother work and professional work environment and will definitely strengthen my coding skills for future prospects. It is important to take care of the basics before moving to more advanced challenges. Much like in hula, where the basic footsteps, hand / arm motions, posture, and facial expression serve as the foundation for the entirety of hula. It is only when you master the basics that you can truly understand and grow.
