Standards are for Conformists
09 Feb 2017Straight and to the point.
I do not like standards. Let us get this out of the way. I do however, like to read code when it conforms to standards. Yes kids, that would make me a walking double standard. I like it when other people do it, but I don’t want to have to worry when writing code myself. I’m selfish.
I’m not stubborn!
I will do my best to write my code in-line with the expected standards, especially in class or when collaborating on projects. I completely understand why these standards exist. When working with others, the last thing you want to worry about is deciphering your teammates’ code, just so you can understand what you are reading. If coding standards did not exist, it would be like being given an English assignment but the instructions were in Greek.
Why do I not like coding standards?
Coding standards are not hard to follow, especially with enough practice. My issue with them is how strict we must follow such rules. I think most people can write code that follow standards. I can see ,though, through my own efforts that the problem is with how we can not write things that follow older standards (like ES5). A big example is special for loops (let… of…). This is one of those things that I loved about JavaScript. It made writing for loops much simpler but ECMAScript 6 had to come and ruin my day.
Let’s make friends with ECMAScript 6
While my attitude right now is generally negative towards ES6, I am willing to accept it and I will do my best to conform to it’s finicky rules. I know it is for the better and it will make working with others much more rewarding. That, and I do believe that I should not live life a double standard.