Becoming a Better Software Developer: A Beginner's Guide
Tags: programming, webdev, tutorial, development
Published: 2021-09-23 05:30:20

Being a competent software developer entails more than simply coding; it also entails finding the most effective and efficient solutions to issues. Algorithms, unit testing, and time-space complexity analysis can all help with this.

## Software Engineer
A [software engineer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_engineering) is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. 

## Basic principles of software engineering
* Manage using a phased life-cycle plan.
* Perform continuous validation.
* Maintain disciplined product control.
* Use modern programming practices.
* Maintain clear accountability for results.
* Use better and fewer people.
* Maintain a commitment to improve the process.

## Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
[Software Development Life Cycle](https://phoenixnap.com/blog/software-development-life-cycle#:~:text=Software%20Development%20Life%20Cycle%20is,%2C%20Test%2C%20Deploy%2C%20Maintain.&text=SDLC%20is%20a%20way%20to%20measure%20and%20improve%20the%20development%20process.) is the application of standard business practices to building software applications.

## The stages of SDLC include:
* Feasible study
* Requirements analysis and specification
* Design
* Implementation
* Testing
* Maintenance

## How to apply these skills
We won't go into great depth, but you'll get a good idea. We'll go through the goals of each step as well as the activities and tasks that must be completed.

## What Does Feasibility Study Mean?
A [feasibility study](https://www.techopedia.com/definition/19297/feasibility-study) is a study, usually done by engineers, that establishes whether conditions are right to implement a particular project.

## Aim of Feasibility Study
The `aim` of this stage is to determine whelther the product is financially worthwhile and technically feasible.

## ACTIVITIES:
* Understand the problem
* Plan out different solutions
* Perform a financial analysis(cost & benefit)

## Software Requirement
[Software requirement](https://www.guru99.com/learn-software-requirements-analysis-with-case-study.html) is a functional or non-functional need to be implemented in the system.
## Requirement analysis and specification
The `aim` of this stage is to understand the exact requirements of the customer and document them properly.

## ACTIVITIES:
* Collect all the related data from the customer through interviews and discussions to clearly understand what the customer really wants. Ensure correctness, consistency and unambiguity in the requirements.
* Organise the requirements in a [Software Requirements Specification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_requirements_specification) document.

## Design
The `aim` of design phase is to transform requirements specification in a form suitable for implementation in some programming language.

## ACTIVITIES:
* Decompose the system into modules
* Represent invocation relationships between modules
* Different modules are designed in greater detail. For example, data structures and algorithms for each module are designed.

## Implementation
The `aim` of this stage is to code and test the modules designed in the previous stage. The end product of implementation phase is a set of program modules that have been tested individually.

## ACTIVITIES:
* Each module of design is coded and each module is unit tested. The purpose of [unit testing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_testing) is to test if individual modules work correctly.

## Testing
The `aim` of this stage is to integrate different modules in a planned manner.

## ACTIVITIES:
* Each integration step the partially integrated system is tested.
* After all the modules have been successfully integrated and tested, system testing is carried out. The goal of system testing is to ensure that the developed system functions according to its requirements specified in the SRS document.

## Maintenance
* The `aim` of this stage is to enhance or maintain the provided service through the product. The maintenance of any software product requires more effort than to develop the product itself. Typically, development effort to maintenance effort ratio is 2:3.

## ACTIVITIES:
* Making appropriate changes to prevent the occurence of errors
* Correct errors which were not discovered during the product development phase.
* Improve implementation of the system
* Enchance functionalities of the system
* Port software to new environment

## Conclusion
The Software Development Life Cycle has far too many steps to be covered in a beginner's handbook. I've concentrated on the Software Development Life Cycle since it provides a framework for creating software. The first step in becoming a better software developer is to follow an SDLC. It makes a significant difference in terms of time, expense, and effort, and this is what distinguishes the novice from the expert.

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