Bug Free Development
Being a web development company we know there are many difficulty in the web development here is some tips for How to set up a bug-free development.
We – as a company providing a visual bug tracking tool which makes life for developers and everyone involved in web projects a lot easier – put a lot of thoughts into the field of bug-free development environments.
Why bug free development?
I guess the question is obvious. We think a lot about the perfect setup for our developing processes . When it comes to testing, QA and ensuring a bug-free development, most developers lack creativity.
However, people rely on our work. Bugs don’t make our clients or website visitors happy. Neither are we. By setting up a bug-free environment, you can ensure that everything works right at the beginning.
Setting up the development machine:
Every developer has a tool set which makes his/her life a lot easier. Over the last years, since starting User-snap, we have developed our very own setup, which is described below.
The basic tools:
We try to optimize our development workflow continuously and it isn’t something which is starved in stone. It can be quite difficult in the beginning to choose the right tools. We – at Usersnap – work on Linux, as well as on Windows 7 and OS X. With this variety of OS we can ensure local tests on a variety of systems and browsers.
7 Tips to Create a Bug Free Environment for Developers:
1. Use Proven Code:
When developing a new application or website design, there’s no need to start everything from scratch. You can find many libraries that offer mostly free code snippets for your project. Reliable libraries have proven and mostly bug-free code. This can not only help create a bug-free environment, but it can also contribute to saving your valuable time.
2. Get Your Code Reviewed:
If you have a team, you are in a better position than developers working on their own. Two pairs of eyes are always better than one. Let others review your code and make it a part of the product development process. Even when doing ‘pair programming’, it is recommended to get code reviews to improve your code’s quality.
3. Log Files:
Using logging during application development and production will help in identifying bugs and determine concurrency issues. Use advanced logging tools to log trace threads, distributed systems, and complete objects, presenting viewer tools. Use advanced and proven tools and libraries in place of scripting some simple logging system.
4. Automated Tests:
Automated tests also work as another strategy to create a bug-free environment, contributing to the functionality of user interfaces, APIs, and modules. Anyone can use automated GUI or unit tests without being an advanced development expert. Unit tests for more important parts of your application can help in creating a much more reliable and stable program. There are many GUI, web and unit testing systems to make your task easier.
5. Beta Release:
Always release a beta to test your application before going ahead with the full-fledged, final release. It is a proven strategy to create a bug-free environment. Beta tests allow your application to be tested by hundreds or thousands of end-users or your clients to detect any bugs.
6. Enable Error Reporting:
Whether it’s a beta version or a full-release, make sure the users can easily report errors. Whenever an exception takes place, allow the user to send back an error report. The error report should be as detailed as possible to provide all the info you require, including version, error messages, call stacks, and log files.
7. Use a Debugger:
In many of the development platforms and environments, developers usually eliminate bugs by try and error. This is a time-consuming and exhausting method of identifying and resolving bugs. A more professional and effective alternative is to use a powerful debugger instead of wasting time and resources and taking risks.