Weekly Dev Tips

The Repository design pattern is one of the most popular patterns in .NET development today. However, depending on its specific implementation, its benefits to the system's design may vary. One thing to watch out for is query logic leaking out of the repository implementation.

Design Patterns offer well-known, proven approaches to common problems or situations in software application development. Having a broad knowledge of the existence of patterns, and at least a few you're proficient in, can dramatically improve your productivity.

It's difficult to differentiate yourself if you don't have a single area of expertise. Either you'll have difficulty landing work or you'll be forced to compete with a host of other non-specialists on rate. By becoming a T-shaped developer, you can market yourself as an expert in a particular area and stand out from the crowd!

Many developers work in legacy codebases, which are notoriously difficult to test and maintain in many cases. One way you can address these issues is by trying to maximize the use of new, better designed constructs in the code you add to the system.

Enumerations are a very primitive type that are frequently overused. In many scenarios, actual objects are a better choice.

It's highly unlikely that you're a software developer who works in a vacuum. Here are a few tips for showing your gratitude to the people, companies, products, and tools that help you to be successful.

Primitive Obsession describes code in which the design relies too heavily on primitive types, rather than solution-specific abstractions. It often results in more verbose code with more duplication of logic, since logic cannot be embedded with the primitive types used.

Encapsulation is a key aspect of object-oriented programming and software engineering. Unfortunately, many systems fail to properly encapsulate collection properties, resulting in reduced quality.

Many of you have probably heard of various "DD" approaches to writing software. There's TDD, or Test Driven Development. There's BDD, for Behavior Driven Development. In this tip, I want to introduce you to another one, PDD: Pain Driven Development.

One classification of objects in many applications is the Data Transfer Object, or DTO. Here are some more tips that may help you avoid problems when using these objects.

One classification of objects in many applications is the Data Transfer Object, or DTO. Here are some tips that may help you avoid problems when using these objects.

Low level built-in exception types offer little context and are much harder to diagnose than custom exceptions that can use the language of the model or application.

Don't fall into the premature optimization trap. Follow this sequence when developing new features.

Be wary of the 'new' keyword in your code, and recognize the decision you're making by using it.

Your methods should fail fast, if doing so can short-circuit their execution. Guard clauses are a programming technique that enables this behavior, resulting in smaller, simpler functions.