Here are Top Tips to Help You Write Code Faster

Coding can seem repetitive, and thus, achieving the perfect flow is essential to be a good programmer. If you wish to write code faster, the first thing you should do is build a strong foundation in the relationships between data structures and various algorithms. With this, it will be extremely easy for you to skip unnecessary lines of code and write accurate or clean code.

So, what is clean code? It can be described as code that is easy to read and alter. This is especially useful when you are working with a team or collaborating with other developers in a common repository.

Clean code is also of better quality and is expected to meet various guidelines, such as not having excess strings or syntax. A better understanding of the programming language of your choice is also crucial for writing cleaner code. If you are a beginner, it is highly suggested that you learn a language such as Python that offers simple syntax.

However, if you wish to become a web developer, a good understanding of how HTML or HyperText Markup Language (a frontend language) works should be your foremost priority. This will allow you to understand how the website is presented to your end users. With this knowledge, you can easily manipulate the building blocks or the foundation of your web project.

Now, when it comes to designing, you need CSS or Cascading Style Sheets, which is also a frontend language. HTML and CSS are incredibly fun to use, and instead of trying to just script more code, one should attempt to write as little as possible. If you are interested in picking up these skills, look for a good full-stack web development course or any basic frontend web development course that focuses on HTML and CSS at the outset.

For backend web development, you need to learn JavaScript, which is both a backend and frontend language. Here you can apply various tips to write faster with cleaner code.

To incorporate various advanced features into your web application or website, you will need to write a lot of code. With some practice, you can write this code faster.

Yes, you can choose to copy code but to truly get better and faster at writing custom code, you must first write a lot of code on your own. This will help you get into the flow and allows you to keep on coding while keeping the features of the program or the core objective of the project in mind. A good full stack developer course can be very helpful in helping you write code faster.

It is a great idea to use frameworks such as Node.js and Angular.js, as these reduce your coding time considerably. With these, you can employ event-driven input/out models for coding. By using additional drag-and-drop features, you can code even faster than other traditional means.

Using project management tools and incorporating automation testing is also gaining enormous popularity in modern times. Adopting the agile methodology is also expected from good programmers in today’s world.

Let us check what techniques and methods we can adopt for faster project completion as well as how we can write code faster with the help of some useful tips.

Tips for Writing Code Faster

To become faster at coding, you should eliminate all the excess code you include in your work. So, how can you identify what is excess or unnecessary?

This can be done by going back to the basics and understanding the building blocks better. Through this, you can also easily figure out solutions to various problems and technical challenges. Having a strong foundation will show up in your work as your lines of code will be crisp, clear, and readable.

Programming is not just about compiling instructions or typing syntax; it is about critical thinking as well. Thus, you must keep trying to understand how functions, algorithms, and syntax work to think faster when coding.

Why do you think that experienced programmers or coders are so highly valued? It is because they bring this wisdom to the table. And, you can do just that in an even shorter period of time by getting enough practice.

Here are some great tips for increasing your coding speed:

1. Never skip the fundamentals or chapters

Start learning from the basics and never skip any topic between your lessons or in your program. You might end up missing something important that will help you gain a better understanding of how everything works. This will prevent confusion in the future while handling programming projects. Having a good hold over IDEs (Integrated Development Environments), data structures, syntaxes, variables, algorithms, and control structures, is essential to be a fast programmer.

Also, you must always stick to a guided path and complete modules systematically in order to ensure that you learn everything properly. For example, following an outline set in a full stack web development course is great for ensuring that you learn everything about web development properly.

2. Achieve the flow state

Achieving the flow state maximizes your output, and you are able to essentially enjoy the act of coding.  To achieve this, you must have a comfortable work environment and use the tools or IDEs you are comfortable with.

It is also believed that one can always code better in their programming or scripting language of choice. For instance, you might love using JavaScript, while someone else might prefer TypeScript. Some suites and project tools negatively affect your flow state, so you should get rid of tools that cause friction.

Free yourself from distractions, and if possible, you should try to work during the hours when you can give your peak output.

3. Maintain quality

Maintaining quality from the very beginning will ensure you become a faster coder. Also, less code is generally better code. Cleaner code is easier to reuse and alter.

By keeping your code aligned with the project from the very beginning, you can also avoid any altercations with management later on and reduce the need for iterations.

Following the objectives of the project should always be your first priority and keeping it in mind during coding avoids the need for unnecessary changes in the future.

4. Reflect, learn, and explore

Reflect on your code and try to understand your shortcomings. If you have no shortcomings, try to identify how you can optimize your code further and improve your approach. Try to think of multiple ways to handle a problem and figure out the best solutions.

Continually challenging yourself will force you to figure out the right approach during complex situations automatically. This will also help you choose the best tools and IDEs for your project more effectively, thus, reducing your coding time even more. Exploring and learning as much as you can is essential for becoming a fast-thinking coder who can make good decisions when it comes to projects.

5. Practice and even code by hand

With enough practice, you will be more inclined to think outside of the box and can easily handle challenges. The practice also helps you write code incredibly fast.

Experimenting with a variety of problems is also a great way for deciding the best approaches to writing code. Copying code is great for certain situations, but manually writing code can help you become a swift coder for building advanced systems or applications.

Writing code on paper will also help you in technical interviews as you might be asked to do the same during the session.

6. Debugging and learning from your mistakes

For being a good programmer and not just necessarily a fast one, debugging is crucial. Debugging allows you to identify your errors, and make the necessary changes to improve your code. Using debugging tools is great for this purpose and the process of debugging or fixing glitches makes it easy for you to program faster in the future.

Learning from past mistakes has a huge contribution towards becoming a fast thinker when it comes to programming. Also, by understanding your mistakes, you will avoid them in the future when coding fast.

Good Coding Practices

Here are some great coding practices to be a better programmer and teammate:

• One of the best coding practices for both the employer and the programmers is to adopt agile methods. This will speed up processes and increase the efficiency of development processes or projects.
• Another great coding practice is to keep your work domain-driven, thus, reducing any additional features, systems, or dynamics that will require more code. Some features are always unnecessary in a platform, program, or application, and it is in the programmer’s best interest to identify and remove them.
• Automated testing and automation tools such as Jenkins or Ansible are extremely important in this day and age. This is especially true as there are lines of code in dozens being contributed to common repositories or projects. Large companies hire a lot of developers, and even in smaller projects, teams of developers must always collaborate. Thus, it is always great to know how to use automated testing for faster builds. Automatically testing builds allow you to identify what to improve in real time and also help you locate or remove errors immediately.
• It is also crucial to maintain CI/CD (Continuous Improvement/Continuous Development) pipelines for software development as it is definitely one of the best practices for coding and collaborating on a project. Try employing unit testing as much as possible.
• Using frictionless tools, good IDEs, meaningful names for syntax targets, formatting, and using comments for teammates.
• Try using exceptions as compared to using error codes when coding. Learn how to handle overwhelming situations.
• Prioritize your work and try to systematically approach development stages.
• Always keep refining your code from the very beginning, as you will get used to only writing accurate code late on.
• Try to reduce your compile time as it decreases your productivity.
• Embrace new technologies but do not hastily keep shifting between them.
• Automate as many processes as possible and use various frameworks to make your work easier.

There are clear benefits of being able to write code faster, some of which include:

• Improved career prospects and happy managers
• Faster project or target completion
• Cleaner code (if less code)
• Faster deployment after iterations
• More time to improve programs, applications, or features
• Easier collaboration with senior team members
• Being able to crack technical interviews and impress potential employers

Writing faster code makes you seem more alluring to future employers. By gaining this ability to write faster and cleaner code, one can become a more lucrative hiring prospect. It will also help you progress in your career faster by getting offered more senior developer roles.

Joining a well-designed web development course or a programming course will help you gain the best coding skills you need.

If you wish to improve your coding skills and speed for full stack development, check out Hero Vired’s full stack developer course. The program includes workshops, industry projects (with MERN stack), and hands-on learning sessions. You will also gain exposure to MongoDB, SQL, Node JS, React JS, and various other technologies.