Don't Just Do It...Do It Right

Over the past few years, I've really begun to see myself mature as a developer. It's not that I've learned any new mind-blowing code or languages, but instead in my development process and practices. I've developed an appreciation for well-documented and well-planned code, as well as for security practices.

Most of this maturity has been spawned by actually working with applications and databases that are meant to be used. When previously developing code on my own or for class, it was more along the lines of building a house of cards: I could put it together but it wasn't very stable. The application wasn't reasonably useful for anyone else.

While it may be nice to incorporate new features in our sites, like our faith, it's important to start with a solid foundation. We shoud strive to have websites that validate (or at least display consistently across brosers), catch errors, redirect bad links, and avoid making a visitor say "Uh Oh" or "What do I do now?" Not only that, but we should make them easy to pass on to someone else if the need ever arises.

It's something I can't even say is complete for this site (it's a long process when you can only do it in your spare time), but it's something I'm striving towards. It can be a long and not very exciting process, but in the end it does have it's rewards. Think of it as the "measure twice, cut once" of the programming world. In the end, it will save you a lot of hastles.