Top 10 Tips to avoid software bugs

We guess software development companies hate hearing the word bug since it is used frequently throughout the software development process.

Software bugs are almost impossible to eliminate but can be reduced and prevented.

This article outlines some of the most common reasons for software bugs.

Detecting bugs is much more expensive, so it is important to prevent them in the first instance. This article is for testers and software developers. Read it carefully, note the most important points, then meet you at its conclusion.

Types of Software Bugs

Software bugs can be classified into three major categories.

Implementation Bugs

Implementation bugs are bugs introduced during software implementation. These bugs do not exist during the design and requirements phases of software. Still, they are introduced once the specifications are implemented into the code. These bugs can also be called coding errors.

Consider, for example, the login page of an application. According to the specification, a valid username can contain both alphabets and numbers. During implementation, a developer may use symbols with alphabets and numbers.

These are the most prevalent types of software bugs, and they can be avoided greatly.

Specification Bugs

Specification bugs are bugs introduced during the creation of software specifications. Specification bugs are those introduced during the creation of technical specifications, requirements, and design.

According to the specification, for example, if the user enters a wrong password, an error message "Incorrect Username or Password!" will be displayed. According to the standard security guidelines, in this case, the error message should read "Incorrect Username/Password!"

A specification bug occurs when a naive software developer, unaware of the standard security practices and guidelines, is tasked with implementing the specification. They unknowingly implement the behavior specified in the specification.

Absent Specification Bugs

Absent specification bugs occur because workflows or use cases related to the software were not considered when the specifications were created. Absent specification bugs occur because no one anticipated their existence or need when specifications were written.

For example, the specification of a website does not mention HTTPS support. It is therefore assumed that HTTPS is not required for the website.

What Causes Bugs in Software?

Here are some common causes of software bugs.

Regression/Injection

When a new code changes the existing code, it has an unintended side effect. The software worked as expected before the code change, but a bug was introduced afterward.

Regressions/Injections are common when:

The teams are dealing with complex and large codebases from legacy products.

The product design is not good enough to prevent side effects in the code.

Testing Inadequate

There is a greater chance that bugs will be left in the product if the software is not thoroughly tested during the development cycle. The end users would discover these bugs, raising questions about the product's quality.

The failure to test could be caused by:

Inadequate testing procedures for the products.

There is a shortage of experienced testers within the team.

The time and resources required for testing are not available.

Addressing the factors that lead to inadequate testing can prevent these bugs from reaching end users.

Communication Gap

Specifications reflect the ideas and visions of those who create them. Specifications will eventually reflect any gaps in communication between the people who created them.

These gaps can lead to miscommunications, assumptions and conflicts that result in bugs. The specification would be incomplete if certain scenarios were not considered when creating the specification.

The lack of information within the specification allows the development team to make assumptions about the behavior expected for these scenarios.

Improper Planning

Poor planning results from failing to consider scenarios that could impact the product. This could be due to the lack of expertise within the team.

Suppose there's no expertise in security within the team. In that case, it is easy to overlook the planning of security-related efforts.

A lack of critical components/modules can put the entire product at risk.

Messy Code

Some errors can be introduced into code because of poor coding. Bad coding techniques, such as inefficient error/exception handling, lack of validation (datatypes and field ranges), boundary conditions, memory overloads, etc., can lead to errors. This can lead to errors being introduced into the code.

Some programmers may also use poor tools, such as faulty debuggers and debugging tools.

10 Ways to Reduce Software Bugs

No matter how experienced a programmer is, they will still encounter software bugs.

Programmers know that complex interactions cause bugs. We know that bugs can occur for various reasons, from messy code to insufficient testing. But how can they be reduced? No one is perfect, so it is impossible to prevent all bugs from appearing in your code entirely. But there are simple strategies you can employ to lower their numbers.

These programming practices have been proven to reduce the number of bugs in software production. Here are ten tips that will help you avoid creating software with bugs.

Create Testable Code

Test-driven development operates under the principle that at least one test must fail to continue developing in this manner. First, write code that will fail the test; once passed, write more code to pass it as part of this cycle. Repeat until all your tests pass successfully!

Behaviour-Driven Development (BDD)

BDD, or behavior-driven software development, is a methodology that combines domain-driven design and test-driven methods.

BDD simplifies development using a domain-specific (DSL) language to translate natural language sentences into executable tests.

BDD is often implemented at the highest levels of expertise and then progresses to the most fundamental, deepest levels.

The team will better understand the domains and scenarios to be implemented by overcoming these obstacles, leading to more robust, better-designed software.

It improves communication within the team and reduces the likelihood of bugs due to an incorrect specification because of a lack of communication.

BDD is a great way to prevent bugs in software.

Test Driven Development (TDD)

Test-driven Development is another great technique to prevent bugs caused by bad code smell. TDD encourages best software development companies, through frequent code reviews, to break down the code into distinct, cleaner concerns. Together, these techniques help reduce the number of bugs caused by smelly codes.

TDD encourages creating failing tests before the development of the feature/product. Test cases start to pass as the feature/development is completed. This validates the expected behavior.

Tests are better than features because they reduce the risk of an untested feature being delivered to the end user. TDD is a powerful tool for preventing bugs caused by inadequate testing.

TDD is a common technique for preventing bugs in software.

Continuous Integration Continuous Testing (CICT)

Continuous integration is a practice that builds and tests code automatically after each code commits across the team.

There are many benefits to implementing continuous integration, including the ability to determine

If the pushed changes are compatible or if there are issues that need to be addressed.

Continuous integration can significantly reduce the number of bugs which would otherwise be caused by insufficient testing.

It will usually shorten the time between builds. This will improve overall development speed, allow more testing time, and ensure quality.

For CICT to be achieved, a product's build system and test automation system must be integrated.

Having a CICT pipeline for the product ensures that any regressions/injections are detected immediately.

This saves significant time and effort that would otherwise be spent tracking down the changes that resulted in the regression/injection.

Software development companies use CICT to prevent bugs in their software.

Review and Inspection

Code reviews add more eyes to the software. Several developers usually do this.

The code is checked for errors and other problems.

If there are any significant concerns, it is almost certain that a review will be conducted to make sure the issues have been adequately addressed. This is particularly useful for new developers who are still learning good habits.

A proper code review and inspection can prevent software bugs.

Regression Testing

As stated previously, testing all new features, bug fixes, and new releases is crucial. Testing other parts of the code that are unaffected is important.

Unexpected problems can occur because much of the software interacts and works with other components. Ideally, a complete suite of automated regression testing will be implemented to run a consistent test set on every software release.

The problem may have been resolved, but a new, more serious issue arose in the process. This leads to frustration, wasted time, and increased effort. It is important to allocate enough time to solve any unexpected problems.

Think Like a User, not a Programmer

The programmer should think as if they are the end user who will be using the software. If the end user enters the data, the coder can create it easily.

Split Your Code

Consider dividing your code up into modules. You can test your code individually by modularizing it into separate files.

Modularity makes your code easier to test and less complex. Making things as simple as possible is the goal.

Don't Use Comments as a Band-Aid

Code comments should be as concise and clear as possible. Don't rely on them to fix poor code readability. This will be beneficial to you and to future developers.

Code comments can be used to flag issues that top software development companies may encounter. Code comments that are long and messy will only make the code more confusing. Use a clear structure, and make sure to write clear comments.

Only add comments to the overall post that are of real value.

Implement Coding Standards

It is very important. Coding standards are important because they help standardize the development of code and give a guideline on how to approach certain issues. There are different coding styles that companies use. Some projects also have their coding standards. It's, therefore, important to adhere to coding standards.

Takeaway

These best practices can help you reduce the number of bugs in your final product.

Remember the Boy Scout Rule: Leave in a better condition than you found it. Consider these best practices when on a code piece and try to improve it. It won't stop all bugs, but your team will be able to reduce the number of them.

Even if your software development services process is rigorous, we know some bugs will slip through. Putting quality first when you write code makes it possible to make changes that reduce the number of bugs.