In simple words, code review is nothing but examining the code written by someone else for bugs/errors and improving the code's quality. Code review is a crucial part of the software development process, and it is generally done by developers themselves or by other team members. It is an important step because it helps to find and fix errors early in the development cycle. This guide will tell you all about the Code review process.
What are the Goals of the Code Review Process? Finding and Fixing Defects - This is the most obvious goal of code reviews and, arguably, the most important. By finding and fixing defects early on, you can prevent them from causing problems down the road.
Detecting Design Problems - Design problems can be just as harmful as coding errors. They can make future modifications difficult and time-consuming and even lead to software crashes.
Educating Team Members - It's not always easy for new team members to learn the codebase. Code reviews can be a great way to get up to speed quickly. They can also be a way for experienced developers to share their knowledge with others on the team.
Improving Coding Standards - Coding standards are essential for ensuring that the codebase is consistent and easy to read. By improving coding standards, you can make it more maintainable.
Enhancing Security - In some cases, code reviews can help enhance security. For example, they can help ensure that sensitive data is appropriately protected and that vulnerabilities are identified and fixed.
Detecting Integration Problems - Integration problems can be challenging to identify and fix. By detecting them early on, you can prevent them from causing problems down the road.
Reducing Development Time and Costs - Improved code quality can lead to shorter development times and lower costs. This is because developers will spend less time fixing defects and more time working on new features.
What are the 6 Steps for the Code Review Process? The code review process can be summarized into six steps: - Choosing the review team - Defining the scope of the review - Drafting the review checklist - Performing the actual code review - Discussing and documenting the findings - Implementing corrective action if necessary
Let us study each step in detail.
~ Choose the Review Team - The first step is to select the review team. Here, you will need to identify the stakeholders involved in the review and then choose a team of qualified reviewers. It is vital to have a good mix of people on the team, including developers, testers, architects, and business stakeholders.
~ Define the Scope of the Review - The second step is to define the scope of the review. This will help you identify which parts of the code need to be reviewed and what needs to be excluded from the review. It is significant to be as detailed as possible while describing the scope so that everyone on the team understands what is anticipated of them. Also, make sure to establish clear boundaries for the review so that it does not become overly time-consuming or intrusive.
~ Draft the Review Checklist - The third step is to draft a review checklist. This checklist will serve as a guide for the reviewers and help ensure that all aspects of the code are covered during the review. Some of the items you may want to include on the checklist are code formatting, commenting style, code coverage, and error handling.
~ Perform the Actual Code Review - The fourth step is to perform the actual code review. This involves examining the code line by line and identifying any potential problems or defects. The reviewers should also comment on the code, suggest improvements, and ask questions if they are unclear about anything. ~ Discuss and Document the Findings - The fifth step is to discuss and document the code review findings. This is important so that everyone on the team is aware of the issues found and can take action to fix them. It is also a good idea to create a summary of the review findings so that you can refer to it after if required.
~ Implement Corrective Action if Necessary - Finally, the sixth and final step is to take corrective action if necessary. This may involve fixing the code defects identified during the review or making changes to the code based on the feedback from the reviewers. Once the corrective action has been taken, it is important to re-run the code review to ensure that the issues have been adequately addressed.Following these steps will help ensure that your code review is conducted effectively and efficiently. However, it is also essential to keep in mind that the process should be flexible and adaptable to meet the needs of your specific project.
Code Review Checklist You Must Follow When doing a code review, it's helpful to have a checklist of things to look for. This can help ensure that no important aspects are missed. The following is a list of some typical items to check for:
~ Do Not Review Core of More Than 400 Lines at a Time - As per the SmartBear study, programmers should examine no more than 200-400 lines of code (LOC) at a time. Your mind can just suitably process so much data at a time. With exceeding 400 LOC, the ability to detect defects errors also diminishes. Hence, code reviews should be conducted on limited lines of code. You can break the code into various sections and review those particular sections.
~ Always Ensure That The Code is Easy to Understand - One of the goals of code reviews is to improve the overall quality of the code. This includes making sure that the code is easy to read and understand. If the code is difficult to read, finding defects will be more difficult.
~ Use a Tool to Help Automate the Review Process - There are several tools available to help automate the code review process. These tools can help save time and improve accuracy. Some of the popular tools are SonarQube, Klocwork, and PMD.
~ Check for Common Coding Errors - Another crucial aspect is checking for common coding errors. These errors include using the wrong variable type, forgetting to initialize variables, and using uninitialised variables. Ensure that these errors are not present in the code.
~ Verify That The Code Meets the Requirements - One of the most important aspects of code reviews is verifying that the code meets the requirements. This includes both functional and non-functional requirements. For example, the code may need to be written in a specific programming language, or it may need to meet certain performance requirements.
~ Look For Potential Security Vulnerabilities - Security vulnerabilities can be difficult to identify and fix. It's vital to have a process to identify and fix security vulnerabilities. By recognising them early on, you can control them from causing issues down the road.
~ Check For Compliance With Coding Standards - Coding standards are crucial for ensuring that the codebase is consistent and easy to read. By improving coding standards, you can make the codebase more maintainable.
~ Verify that The Code is Appropriately Tested - Another crucial aspect of code reviews is verifying that the code is tested correctly. This includes both unit and integration tests. Ensure that all the test cases are passing and that there are no outstanding issues.
~ Get Feedback From The Developer - The best way to improve the code quality is to get feedback from the developer. The developer knows the code best and can provide valuable insights into potential problems.
~ Avoid Reviewing For Over 60 Minutes at a Time - Studies have shown that after 60 minutes, the ability to find defects diminishes. Reviewing for more than 60 minutes can lead to fatigue and can cause you to miss important details. Also, take breaks every 20 minutes or so to keep your mind fresh.
Code Reviewer Responsibilities The code reviewer is responsible for ensuring that the code meets the organization's standards and is free of errors. They should also be familiar with the codebase and the development process. Some of the responsibilities of a code reviewer include:
~ Reviewing All Code Changes for Accuracy and Compliance With Standards - One of the most important responsibilities of a code reviewer is to ensure that all code changes meet the organization's standards for coding style, naming conventions, etc. This includes checking for code duplication, proper formatting, and adherence to the organization's coding guidelines. Besides, it is crucial to ensure that the code change does not introduce new errors or bugs.
~ Familiarity With the Codebase and Development Process - The code reviewer should be familiar with the codebase and the development process to effectively review code changes. This includes understanding how the code is organized, how it is used, and how it is supposed to work. It also includes understanding the organization's coding standards and guidelines. This knowledge will help the code reviewer to identify any potential problems with the code change and determine if it meets the organization's standards.
~ Reporting Errors and Providing Feedback - The code reviewer should also be responsible for reporting any errors or bugs found in the code and provide feedback to the developer on how they can improve their code. This feedback can help improve the overall quality of the codebase and help the developer to learn and grow as a coder.
~ Identifying Potential Problems - The code reviewer is responsible for identifying any potential problems with the code change and determining if it meets the organization's standards. This includes checking for code duplication, proper formatting, and adherence to the organization's coding guidelines.
~ Ensuring Accuracy and Compliance - One of the most important responsibilities of a code reviewer is to ensure that all code changes meet the organization's standards for accuracy and compliance. This includes checking for code duplication, proper formatting, and adherence to the organization's coding guidelines. It is also important to ensure that the code change does not introduce any new errors or bugs.
Code Review Best Practices These are six of the best practices for code review- Don’t Forget the Basics : Always check for coding style, comment quality, and common errors. These are vital aspects of any code and should be reviewed just like any other part of the code.
Ask Questions : If you’re not sure about something, ask. It’s good to ask and get an explanation than to make an assumption and have it be wrong. Be Open to Suggestions : Code review is meant to be helpful, so be open to suggestions from others. If someone has a suggestion, take the time to consider it and see if it makes sense.
Document Your Work : Documentation is essential for you and others who may need to work on the code later. Documentation should include comments about what the code does and any design decisions that were made.
Test Your Code : Always test your code before sending it for review. This will ensure that there are no evident errors and make it easier for others to comprehend what the code is supposed to do.
Be Patient : Code review can be slow, especially if there are a lot of comments or suggestions. Take time to check through everything and think about it before responding.
Code Review Process in Agile Conducting a code review in an agile environment can be a bit different from conducting a code review in a traditional waterfall environment. In agile, code reviews are typically done regularly, such as weekly or bi-weekly. This allows for more frequent feedback on the code and helps to ensure that issues are identified and resolved quickly. Here is a code review process in an agile environment: ~ The code owner uploads the code to be reviewed to a code review tool or repository. ~ The team member who will be conducting the review downloads the code and reviews it for compliance with the team's standards. ~ The reviewer highlights any issues they find with the code and makes suggestions for improvement. ~ The code owner changes the code as needed and uploads a new version. ~ The reviewer verifies that the code has been fixed and approves the code for release. ~ Finally, the code is discharged to the production environment.
How To Do Code Review in GitHub?
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Being a leading code hosting platform for version collaboration and control, GitHub is widely used by developers worldwide. It offers a great code review feature called pull requests. Pull requests are a way to request changes to someone else's code. They are perfect for code review because they allow you to see the changes that have been made, the discussion around those changes, and the outcome. To do a code review in GitHub, follow these steps: ~ In GitHub, create a new repository and name it "CodeReview." ~ Clone the CodeReview repository on your local machine. ~ Create a folder named "src" inside the CodeReview repository. ~ Copy all of your source code files into the src folder. ~ Create a file named "README.md" in the CodeReview repository. ~ Add a description of your project to the README.md file. ~ Commit all the modifications and push them to GitHub. ~ In GitHub, create a new pull request for the CodeReview repository. ~ Assign someone to review your code. ~ Describe the changes that you have made in the pull request. ~ Add screenshots, if necessary. ~ Wait for the code review to be completed.
How to Automate Code Review Process? Automating the code review process can help speed up the process and ensure the quality of the code. There are several ways to automate the code review process. Here are five of them:
Use a Code Review Tool A code review tool can help automate the process of checking code for errors and violations. These tools can compare different versions of code, identify discrepancies, and suggest fixes. Some popular code review tools include Gitlab, Review Board, and Crucible.
Automate Testing Automated testing can help to speed up the code review process by catching errors and bugs early. Unit tests, functional tests, and regression tests can all be automated. Automated testing can be done using Selenium, Appium, and TestComplete.
Use a Code Checker A code checker is a tool that checks code for compliance with a specific set of rules or standards. Code checkers can be used to check for coding standards, best practices, and security vulnerabilities. Some popular code checkers include Checkstyle, PMD, and FindBugs.
Use a Continuous Integration Tool Continuous integration (CI) is a process where code changes are automatically built and tested. This helps to ensure that errors and bugs are caught early. Continuous integration can be implemented using a tool such as Jenkins or Travis CI.
Automate the Creation of Bug Reports Bug reports can be automatically generated using a tool such as Bugzilla, JIRA, or TFS. This can help to speed up the process of reporting and tracking bugs. Besides, it is also very helpful when you want to compare the codes with the already existing bug reports.
Use a Code Review Template A code review template can help to standardize the process and ensure that all the important aspects are covered. It is also a great technique to document the code review process. Some popular code review templates include Google’s Code Review checklist and Microsoft’s Code Review Guidelines.
Automate the Notification of Code Changes Code changes can be automatically notified to team members using a tool such as Slack or Hipchat. This can help speed up the code review process and ensure that everyone is aware of the changes.
Automate the Generation of Reports Reports can be automatically generated using a tool such as Jenkins or SonarQube. It is also possible to generate reports manually. However, automated reports can help save time and ensure that all the important information is included. These are just some of how you can automate the code review process. There are many other tools and techniques that can be used to automate different aspects of the process.
A Closer Look at the Best Tools for Code Review When it comes to code review tools, there are a lot of them on the market. It can be challenging to decide which one is the best for your organization. Here are some of the most well-recognized code review tools and what makes them stand out from the rest.
Review Board Review Board is a web-based code review tool that helps developers review code, track changes, and merges code changes. It integrates with popular version control systems (Git, Mercurial, and Subversion) and bug tracking systems (Bugzilla, JIRA, and Redmine). Key Features : ~ Allows for code review and diff viewing in a side-by-side interface. ~ Integrates with popular version control systems. ~ Tracks code changes and merges code changes. ~ Supports multiple languages. ~ Free and open-source (licensed under the MIT License).
GitHub GitHub is a web-based hosting service for software development projects that utilize the Git revision control system. It offers all of the features of Git and a web interface for managing projects and collaboration. Key Features: ~ Web-based interface for managing repositories. ~ Integration with popular IDEs and issue tracking systems. ~ GitHub Pages for creating project websites. ~ Free for public repositories, paid plans for private repositories.
Phabricator Phabricator is a suite of open source tools designed to help software developers collaboratively develop better code. It is written in PHP and uses the architectural pattern of the Model View Controller (MVC). It runs on the LAMP stack and is released under the Apache License 2.0. Key Features : ~ Web-based interface for managing repositories. ~ Integration with popular IDEs and issue tracking systems. ~ Phabricator Differential for code reviews. ~ Free for public repositories, paid plans for private repositories.
CollaboratorCollaborator is a code review tool from Smart Bear Software. It is a desktop application that integrates with popular version control systems (Subversion, Git, and Mercurial) and issue tracking systems (JIRA, Bugzilla, and Redmine). Key Features : ~ Integrates with popular version control and issue tracking systems. ~ Offers a desktop application as well as a web-based interface. ~ Simplifies code reviews with templates and auto-generated reports.
CodeSceneIntroduced in 2016, CodeScene is a static code analysis tool that uses machine learning to detect security issues and quality Gates in Java and C++ projects. It also provides project dependency graphs, quality trend reports, and code clone detection. CodeScene is available as a stand-alone product or part of the SonarQube platform. Key Features : ~ Detects security issues and quality gates in Java and C++ projects. ~ Project dependency graphs. ~ Quality trend reports. ~ Code clone detection.
Embold Embold is a software analytics tool used to analyze source code across 4 dimensions: design issues, code issues, metrics, and duplication. The tools surface problems that affect security, maintainability, stability, and robustness. Key Features : ~ Free OS and cloud editions are available. ~ Incorporates with IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse, and Visual Studio. ~ 29 different languages are supported.
Codebrag Codebrag is another crucial code review tool. This is an open-source platform that helps improve the code quality and overall productivity of the development team. The main aim of this static code analysis tool is to make the code review process more efficient and error-free. Key Features : ~ It makes code reviews more efficient and error-free. ~ It offers a broad range of features for code reviews. ~ It is open-source and easy to use.
Code Review Examples
Bad Code Review Examples
~ Systematic / Inconsistency Error One common type of bad code review is when a reviewer finds systematic errors in the code. This means that some errors keep reappearing throughout the code, often in different places. It can be challenging to track these down and fix them, and they can cause a lot of problems for the development team. ~ Unresolved Conflicts Error Another common type of bad code review is when a reviewer finds unresolved conflicts in the code. This can happen when two or more developers are working on the same code base and have different code versions. If these conflicts are not resolved, it can cause problems with the development process and even lead to data loss.
Good Code Review Examples -
~ Excluding potential errors When conducting a code review, it is essential to remember that the goal is to find and fix errors. However, some errors are not worth fixing. For example, if a reviewer finds a minor error that does not affect the code's functionality, it is probably not worth fixing. Instead, the reviewer should focus on finding and correcting the more severe errors. ~ Spreading knowledge A good code review can also help spread knowledge throughout the development team. When everyone is familiar with the code, it is easier to fix errors and make changes. This can be especially helpful when new members join the team or when there are significant changes to the code base.
Frequently Asked Questions What are the steps in the code review process? There are six basic steps in the code review process: ~ Selecting the review team ~ Determining the scope of the review ~ Preparing the review checklist ~ Conducting the actual code review ~ Discussing and documenting the findings ~ Executing corrective action if necessary
How is code review done? There is no single method to perform a code review. The most crucial thing is to have a clear understanding of the review's goals and ensure that these goals are met. Many tools and techniques can be used to facilitate code reviews, but it is ultimately up to the reviewer to decide what is best for each situation.
What is a code review checklist? A code review checklist is a document that lists the items that should be checked during a code review. Some common code review checklists include: ~ Reviewing coding standards ~ Checking for security vulnerabilities ~ Identifying potential problems with readability or maintainability ~ Checking for compliance with applicable standards ~ Identifying potential licensing issues ~ Checking for errors or potential problems in the code
Who should be involved in a code review? The people who should be involved in a code review will vary depending on the project. However, typically, the following people should be involved: ~ Developers who wrote the code ~ A lead developer or architect ~ QA or testing staff ~ Documentation staff ~ Managers or project owners
Why is code review crucial for software development? A code review is an essential part of the software development process because it helps to ensure that the code is of high quality and meets the requirements of the project. By identifying and resolving issues early on, a code review can help to avoid costly problems further down the line. Additionally, a code review can help to improve the overall efficiency and quality of the development process.
How do I prepare for code review? When preparing for a code review, the first thing you need to do is ensure that your code is easy to read and well organized. This means using clear and consistent indentation, commenting on your code as needed, and using meaningful variable and function names. It also helps to provide clear documentation for your code so that reviewers can easily understand what it does and how it works. Another crucial aspect of preparing for a code review is to run your code through a linter to check for any potential errors or style issues. This will help to ensure that your code is clean and ready for review. Finally, it is always helpful to have someone else look at your code before you submit it for review so that you can get feedback on your code and make any necessary changes before the review process begins.
How much time does it take to review the code? The length of time it takes to review code varies depending on the size and complexity of the codebase and the number of reviewers involved. In general, it is best to allow at least a few days for reviewers to look over the code and provide feedback. This will aid in ensuring that all aspects of the code are thoroughly reviewed and that everyone has enough time to provide their input. If you need to get a code review done quickly, you can break the codebase into smaller chunks and assign them to different reviewers. This will help speed up the review process and ensure that all aspects of the code are covered. Final Thoughts Code Review is a vital process that can help ensure the quality and correctness of software code. By following the steps mentioned in this tutorial, you can conduct a code review that is both effective and efficient. Keep in mind that the process should be flexible and adaptable to meet the specific needs of your project. If you have any queries or comments, feel free to share them in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!
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