Why do we need coding standards?

Many beginner developers ask me why they should worry about coding standards when their code works as expected.

Here are a few important points. 👇

1. Consistency

Using similar coding styles throughout the codebase is a win for everyone on the team. It reduces the time to think & to decide how to name a variable/class/function or how to structure code. Every developer who codes doesn't have to spend time thinking.

2. Maintainability

Codebases are mostly contributed by a lot of developers and that keeps changing. Maintaining a constant standard throughout makes it easy for anyone to get started and contribute without friction. Having a set standard helps to keep code complexity in check.

3. Clean code

The code looks clean. Imagine opening a codebase just to find code written haphazardly. It would be a nightmare to work on such a codebase. This eventually becomes tech debt.

Coding standards that are enforced, have a cleaner codebase than others.

4. Developer sanity

If every developer follows their own standards, the codebase would be a mess. It would be very frustrating for another developer to fix bugs or complete features started by others, because of different coding styles.

5. Reduced development time

When there is a consistent standard, the code is readable and familiar, which saves a lot of time. Developers can start coding right away.

Reviewing Pull Requests becomes easier as well.