Español
Português
The quality of the source code is what attests to the positive attributes of a software. The cleaner the code, the lower the risk of it suffering from attacks – because a large part of attacks are targeted at source code.
But how to keep a clean and organized code if each developer has a way to write it? The answer to this question lies in the constant checks.
Testing the quality of the source code is an essential step that does not allow for failure. And it’s about how to do that that we’ll talk about in the topics below. Follow us in this article!
The importance of quality source code
The source code is the essence of a software. This pattern defines the programming language and therefore needs consistency in its development. Otherwise, it will mean usability problems and put sensitive user data at risk.
This is a responsibility of programmers that should never be ignored, after all, the main attacks on companies are carried out when there is easy perception of high fragility.
As we said earlier, each developer has their own way of developing the code they’re working with. It’s like writing manually: certain letters are clean, light, pleasant to read. Others are complicated and can bring wrong interpretations of what they mean.
And if these implementation failures are not quickly noticed, it can hurt all the work.
The benefits of analyzing source code during development
As you may have noticed, analyzing the source code already during development is essential for the quality of the software.
In addition to security, this care also ensures a valuable gain of time: with a good tool, there is a gain in the work of correcting vulnerabilities in the source code.
In addition to this benefit, there are others that deserve to be mentioned with this care:
Facilitate code standardization
Standardizing the source code is the first step to make it clear and thereby speed up the necessary corrections.
Code analysis already during development allows for this clarity. In this way, developers have confidence in following guidelines that maintain uniformity and consistency for coding.
At the end of the project, the uniformity in reading and ease of navigation bring the great impression that the whole process was developed only by an encoder or developer, for example.
Avoid bad practices during software programming
If every developer has his or her way of writing code, this can lead to many negative sides, such as:
- The non-planning of the type of access to variables and methods;
- Too long names for variables;
- Long methods.
The problem is that most IDEs do not configure logic or syntax errors and end up not flagging occurrences of this type.
Good tools rely on specific solutions that solve this problem. Thus, it is always important that they are available.
Improve user navigation
“Buggy” software is a terrible legacy for developers and businesses. This calls into question the level of the professionals involved and the reputation of the service provided: a real nightmare.
The correction of the source code already during its development avoids this type of result, because it values the good navigation of the system and its functionalities. With this, not only does the software gain the respect of users, but the brand’s own reputation and the portfolios of professionals become more consolidated.
Eliminate security issues
One of the main points of care is related to attacks. Analysis of source code during development allows no tip to be loose as to the possible vulnerability of sensitive data.
How to measure the quality of the source code
In general, the quality measurement of a code is defined by the responses of its tests.
However, relying only on human trials can be a mistake. Unfortunately, people are fallible and have not achieved the automation solutions that certain tools already offer.
The best solution, therefore, is to combine the verification skills of professionals with the high performance of tools.
Among the 5 factors that measure the quality of a given code are:
1. Reliability
This is how much your system can run without crashes for a certain period of time. Knowing this average is an important step to anticipate problems to the maximum in case of possible errors.
2. Maintenance
How much, depending on its size, structure, and consistency does the code require time in its maintenance? This is a metric that can be analyzed in manual or automated reports, depending on the organization of the team.
3. Test support
Supporting the different tests performed shows the capability of the software according to its size and specifications. The more positive responses in incremented tests, the better the product will be.
4. Portability
It is the measurement of software performance in different environments. Ensuring that the code is portable means its universalization and thus supports more access.
5. Reuse
It is a factor that can be measured in different interdependencies and shows how consistent the basis of this code is for use in project variations.
BugScout: the ultimate solution for source codes
bugScout is a tool designed to ensure the full quality of your source code. With an On-Premises or Cloud platform, bugScout automates all processes involved throughout development for more than 35 languages. This fully checks any issues that influence the quality of your application’s source code.
Because it is compatible with the main languages used in the web and mobile environment, the tool includes complete frameworks that cover complex flows such as dependency injection, unrelated databases, and ORMS.
As a result, bugScout analyzes any and all vulnerabilities in all reference standards, such as CWE, WASC, and OWASP, building highly secure applications against the most different types of attacks in corporate or mobile internal environments.
Relying on the solutions offered by bugScout is the best way to provide total security to your software, protecting not only the sensitive data of users, but also the reputation of your company.
Want to learn more about how bugScout works to maintain the quality of your applications? Talk to us right now!
