Optimal Coder

Code reviews are a crucial part of writing great software. They help maintain code quality, catch bugs early, and improve collaboration. But if done poorly, they can be frustrating, time-consuming, and even demotivating. So, how do you make your code reviews effective and useful? What to Do? 1. Prioritize Code Quality and Maintainability Make sure the code follows best practices and style guidelines. Check for ways to improve performance and efficiency. Ensure the code is easy to read and well-structured. 2. Give Constructive, Respectful Feedback Focus on helping, not just pointing out mistakes. Offer suggestions rather than just criticism. Highlight things that were done well, not just areas that need improvement. 3. Ensure the Code is Properly Tested Look for unit tests and integration tests where needed. Check for edge cases and possible failure points. Make sure tests actually pass before approving the PR. 4. Look Out for Security and Performance Issues Watch for common security ri...

Before we kick off, just a quick mention that the intention of this post is pure fun, so please don't take it too seriously! :) ....  Hiring and retaining top programming talent is expensive, but reducing costs doesn’t have to mean cutting corners. Instead of simply lowering salaries, businesses can use smart (and slightly sneaky) strategies to optimize their workforce, keep developers motivated, and ensure productivity remains high while keeping costs manageable. Create a Family Like Environment Because nothing says "family" like a workplace where you're expected to answer emails at midnight! But seriously, a strong company culture can make employees feel valued and connected, reducing turnover and salary demands. Foster a workplace that emphasizes: Open communication : Encourage feedback and transparency to build trust. Just be sure to ignore any feedback that involves "higher salaries." Team bonding activities : Regular pizza parties, yearly company event...

 A well-maintained Git log is more than just a record of commits—it’s a story of your project’s growth, collaboration, and problem-solving. But as projects scale and teams grow, Git logs can become cluttered, making it harder to trace changes, understand context, or troubleshoot issues. In this post, we’ll explore strategies to make your Git log more readable, structured, and useful—because a great Git log isn’t just good practice; it’s a competitive advantage. Simple Merging Let's kick off with a simple merging strategy, the one we are all probably most familiar with. For simplification purposes, let's assume we have one main branch that represents the current development branch. Every team member creates their own branch when they want to work on a specific feature and continues working on that feature branch until it is finished. Once it's done, they merge their feature branch into the main branch, and all their work is integrated into the main branch. Then, they can mov...

Undoubtedly, one of the most popular books in software engineering, it teaches the fundamentals of software architecture, methods for organizing code, and is widely regarded as a must-read for any software developer. Written by Robert C. Martin, also known as "Uncle Bob," the full title of the book is " Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship ". Key Takeaways The book emphasizes a few important topics to pay attention to: Readability: The code should be written in a meaningful manner that is easy to read and understand. It emphasizes the importance of simple, short, clear naming for variables, functions/methods, classes, and other structures for code organization (folders, namespaces, packages), as well as maintaining consistency in naming throughout the application. This also reduces the need to write comments in the code, as the code itself should be self-explanatory. Additionally, it's important to avoid using global variables, as they often i...

“This is the last time I am doing overtime hours. It won’t happen again for sure.” You are thinking about this and in the meantime your team lead comes into the office and interrupts your thoughts with the similar story: ”Hey guys, only this time we need to do extra effort and after that we will be more concerned about deadlines.” Few months later, a new project and the same story. Sounds familiar?  Reasons This can be due to vary of reasons. Some of them could be: Poor planning is reflected by inadequate scoping and requirements. Without a clear understanding what needs to be done, it's impossible to give a good estimate. False optimism by decision makers. Tendency to not think about the details, thinking everything would go smoothly. But if something could go wrong, it will (always) ☺ Pressure from clients who are pushing for fast results to meet market demands. Underestimating external dependencies. Not giving enough attention to the third party interface integration. Hero Cultu...

This is a very common subject that many of us have already experienced. But when you realize that half of what has been said at interviews is actually a lie, you are already at least six months in the company, you have already started some project and it wouldn’t be appropriate to leave the company at that moment. Why is this happening? First of all, let us see how the usual interview process looks like in software development companies. First round interview in most of these companies is an interview with HR. This is the first insight about the company. A person who works in HR is usually someone who, in most cases, doesn’t understand what the software is and how the software development process goes. Big respect to those companies where HR knows these things. This phase usually contains some standard questions about your personality, what do you like about the company, how this company is something that you are actually looking for, where you see yourself in five/ten  years etc… ...