Dan Rigsby says it all for me....
Coding standards are usually not well liked and can be met with some resistance. However, when they are properly defined and enforced they can yield a number of benefits:
1) Standards can help reduce the cost of development. Since code is easier to maintain and read, less time needs to be spent on these activities thereby decreasing the cost.
2) Standards can also help make code more homogeneous. Developers usually dislike working with code written by others because of the various coding tendencies or the lack of any standards. Homogenization helps reduce the difficulty of working with code developed. Some developers who work with code from another developer will often spend time refactoring and reworking the code so that it fits to his/her own personal tastes. Some code may be reworked over and over again by different developers wanting to make the code feel more familiar to them. Having standards helps avoid this.
3) Standards can also help reduce the number of bugs and the bugs that do exist are easier to find in fix. While the code will not be bug-free, it will help elevate a lot of issues.
The debate is not whether or not standards are useful. It’s more about how they should be implemented, what standards should be in place, and how closely they must be followed. The purpose of this document is to layout the standards that should be used, however these are only suggestions. Modifications will be made to this document to keep up with developer input as well as new technologies.
Coding standards are usually not well liked and can be met with some resistance. However, when they are properly defined and enforced they can yield a number of benefits:
1) Standards can help reduce the cost of development. Since code is easier to maintain and read, less time needs to be spent on these activities thereby decreasing the cost.
2) Standards can also help make code more homogeneous. Developers usually dislike working with code written by others because of the various coding tendencies or the lack of any standards. Homogenization helps reduce the difficulty of working with code developed. Some developers who work with code from another developer will often spend time refactoring and reworking the code so that it fits to his/her own personal tastes. Some code may be reworked over and over again by different developers wanting to make the code feel more familiar to them. Having standards helps avoid this.
3) Standards can also help reduce the number of bugs and the bugs that do exist are easier to find in fix. While the code will not be bug-free, it will help elevate a lot of issues.
The debate is not whether or not standards are useful. It’s more about how they should be implemented, what standards should be in place, and how closely they must be followed. The purpose of this document is to layout the standards that should be used, however these are only suggestions. Modifications will be made to this document to keep up with developer input as well as new technologies.
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