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June 12, 2006 7. Pay attention to the GUI. – No matter how absurd it sounds; I repeatedly observe that GUI is as important to the business clients as functionality and performance. The GUI is an essential part of a successful application. Very often IT management tends to overlook the importance of GUI. Many organizations save money by not hiring web designers who have experience in design of "user-friendly" applications. Java developers have to rely on their own HTML skills and their limited knowledge in this area. I have seen too many applications that are "computer friendly" rather then "user friendly". Very rarely I have seen developers that are proficient in both software development and GUI development. If you are this unlucky Java developer who has been assigned to create an application interface, you should follow these three rules:
8. Always Prepare Document Requirements. – Every business requirement must be documented. This could be true in some fairy tale, but it is far from that in the real world. No matter how time-pressed your development is, no matter how tight the deadlines, you must always make sure that every business requirement is documented. 9. Unit-test. Unit-test. Unit-test. – I am not going to go into any details as to what is the best way to unit-test your code. I am just going to say that that it must be done. This is the most basic rule of programming. This is one rule that, above all, cannot be omitted. It would be great if your fellow developer could create and execute a test plan for your code, but if that is not possible, you must do it yourself. When creating a unit test plan, follow these basic rules:
10. Remember – quality, not quantity. - Do not stay late (when you do not have to). I understand that sometimes production problems, urgent deadlines, and unexpected events might prevent us from leaving work on time. But, managers do not appreciate and reward their employees because they stay late on regular basis, they appreciate them because they do quality work. If you follow the rules that I outline above, you will find yourself producing less buggy and more maintainable code. That is the most important part of your job. ConclusionIn this article I covered ten critical rules for Java Programmers. It is not merely important to know these rules, it is also important to follow them. Hopefully, these rules will help all of us become better programmers and professionals. About the AuthorAleksey Shevchenko has been working with object-oriented languages for over seven years. He is now implementing enterprise IT solutions for Wall Street and the manufacturing and publishing industries. |