What is Code quality metrics?
- The code quality metrics should help us identify glitches and bugs in the code.These metrics are not expressed in numbers; instead, they aid in categorizing whether the code is accepted or rejected.
- They cover areas such as coding standards, meaningful names, coding best practices, and more. By using these metrics, we can systematically evaluate and improve the overall code quality, ensuring better maintainability and a more robust software system. Let’s discover the qualitative metrics to measure high-quality code.
Characteristics of code quality metrics:
1. Reliability:
- Reliability in software development pertains to the software's accessibility and dependability. Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) is a metric used to measure the software availability and uptime.
- To achieve a reliable codebase, minimizing defect counts becomes essential as it directly impacts the software's stability and ability to serve the users consistently and without interruptions.
2. Code Maintainability:
- Code maintainability assessment helps us understand the ease of maintaining software by considering factors such as code structure, consistency, size, and complexity. Larger codebases can be more difficult to maintain, while smaller ones are easier.
- To create maintainable code, a combination of human checks and automation is necessary. Developers rely on best practices, code reviews, and automated testing to ensure code quality and long-term manageability.
3. Reusability:
- As the name suggests, it measures whether a code can be reused or not.
- If characteristics like coupling are employed, they can significantly enhance code reusability.
4. Portability:
- Portability assesses how well the software can be used in various environments, and it is directly related to platform independence.
- Maintaining a consistent coding standard is also pivotal for ensuring portability.
5. Readability:
- Developers can easily understand code that is readable, fostering greater collaboration possibilities.
- Using concise and understandable code enhances the readability and comprehension of the code structure. Let's explore some tips to improve code readability:
- Utilize meaningful class names, functions, and descriptive variables.
- Keep functions and methods as short as possible.
- Maintain consistent formatting to enhance readability.
6. Modularity:
- Modularity is the allocation of code into independent or reclaimable components.
7. Consistency:
- Readability relies on proper consistency, which can be achieved through an error-handling approach.
- Employing logical naming conventions for functions, classes, and files also contributes to enhancing readability.
8. Documentations:
- Documentation should be done in an immaculate manner in order to comprehend the codes later without any difficulty.
- Each component of the code is necessary to count while documenting, as it aids in grasping the codebase quickly.
9. Testing:
- A tested program garners greater interest and yields higher-quality results. The testing process includes a screening phase and writing tests is a crucial step in improving code quality as it helps identify and address bugs, facilitating refactoring.
- Additionally, integrations can be employed to validate interactions between different components, and various testing techniques can be utilized to ensure the application's reliability and robustness.
10. Performance and Efficiency:
- The efficiency metric measures the effectiveness of code execution, aiming for optimal performance. Efficient code is both concise and quick to run while code that may lead to performance issues and error detection challenges, is considered inefficient and of low quality. Therefore the primary goal should be achieved by prioritizing efficiency and performance.
How to Improve Code Quality?
1. SonarQube:
- This is one of the basic code review tools that tops the list. It is best used to meet code quality and security standards. Furthermore, it is applied for the continuous examination of security and code quality.
- SonarQube covers up to 30 different languages and it can support both on-premises and cloud setups. Additionally, it can also be used to support IDE Play plugins like SonarLint for IntelliJ.
2. PVS Studio:
- PVS Studio is a static code analyzer tool used to detect bugs in the code written in C, C++, C#, and Java. It works well with Linux, Windows, and MacOS Environments and it supports security standards like CWE, MISRA C, C++, and AUTOSAR.
- Some of the added features of PVS Studio are - great scalability and automatic notification for developers, Finally, it can also be incorporated into the SonarQube and helps in code security.
3. Crucible:
- This code quality tool is used for collaboration, catering to small to mid-size teams in the code review process. It takes into account commonly used code control systems. Additionally, Crucible aids in reviewing code, assisting development teams in catching bugs, and enforcing coding standards.
- It also integrates with tools like BitBucket, Jira, and Confluence. Moreover, it facilitates the review process for the remaining code. To sum up, Crucible supports iterative reviews, inline discussions, and threaded conversations.
4. Codacy:
- No doubt it is the finest tool for freelance developers and large enterprises. Codacy is a static code analysis tool that addresses issues related to code security, violation of coding standards, code duplication, and more. It can even help trace code coverage. Codacy supports 30+ programming languages and offers a free trial, making it easy to use.
- It always prioritizes security standards and code quality while also tracking code coverage. One of the major disadvantages of Codacy is that the enterprise version is often considered expensive and lacks consistent support.
5. Upsource:
- This reviewing tool is used for small to medium-sized teams. Moreover, it has a clean interface, and in addition to that, it provides static code analysis through the dashboard and UI.
- It supports some of the tools like SVN, GitHub, and BitBucket and it also performs a streamlined review.
6. Review Board:
- Specifically, this tool is designed to review basic code. Some of its features include the ability to review code, graphics, documentation, and PDFs.
- It provides an automated review, especially when used in combination with multiple source codes.
7. Phabricator:
- This is one of the greatest tools for small teams, software developers, and managers. To begin with, it provides a way for code review and project management as the review process utilizes information like comments and tests.
- It is very simple to use, secure, and multifunctional. The browser-based dashboards in Phabricator can be easily utilized.
8. DeepScan:
- This static analysis tool is a suitable tool that assists languages like JavaScript, React, Vue.js, and TypeScript. It always keeps a check on code quality.
- Apart from that, it also tracks bugs and supports data flow analysis.
9. Embold:
- This checking tool is used across diverse domains of varying sizes. Embold stands as a perfect tool as it finds the defects and provides solutions. Certainly, it effectively identifies code quality issues and offers support for over 15 programming languages, including C#, HTML, SQL, Java, and more.
- On top of that, it provides detailed analyses for code quality, duplicate code, and design patterns.
10. Veracode:
- This quality code is best for teams seeking one-step solutions. It covers different types of codes, security testing, and software composition analysis like DLLs, Java code, Android packages.
- Additional advantage is that it has the potential to scan mobile apps.
How to Enhance the Code Quality:
- A good-quality code is necessary to run an organization. A quality code should be taken care of from the very beginning, rather than after inclusion.We will explore five steps for improving the quality of the code.
Structure:
- The basic foundation of coding lies in its structure. Developers are required to possess a good understanding of design patterns to ensure that team members become familiar with them. Well written code can be easily expanded in the future. To achieve precise features, functionalities need to be divided into modules.
Naming Conventions:
- Creating a coherent codebase involves factors like organizing file structures, using meaningful variable names, adhering to naming conventions, and more.
- It is also important to adopt recommended terminologies for classes and modules to promote code coherence.
Test Coverage:
- In some cases, it becomes unattainable to cover all the errors which might lead to a quality loss. test coverage is important.
Prioritization:
- Before getting started, it is essential to consider certain factors, such as code usage, structure, testing, procedures, updates, and more. These aspects should be carefully noted and taken into account.
Benefits of Code Quality Metrics:
- Improved Collaboration: Metrics like readability and maintainability foster better understanding among team members.
- Higher Efficiency: Reliable and efficient code leads to faster development cycles.
- Reduced Costs: Early identification of issues reduces the cost of fixing defects.
- Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: High-quality code minimizes bugs and improves user experience.
