Code Linting

What is Lint Code ?

 A lint code or a static code analyzer is only a tool that helps you to discover the code for errors ( programming or stylistic ) and suspicious constructs. In simple language, it is a tool that analyses the code and finds the error or the issue with the coding mode. A lint code is a tool that analyzes the static code. Linting is a process that searches automatically of your source code for errors( programming or stylistic) And the process of Linting is performed by utilizing a lint tool and this is also called a Linter.

This is a processor of automatically checking the code and by this automatic process, the test process of the code and review get more productive. This will helps the users to concentrate not on errors but on right things. It helps the users to write good code and these tools are written in the C language. In 1978, Stephen C.Johnson wrote the first ever longer while working in Bell Labs.

Why Linting is Important?

 

The above image explain you the importance of Linting. It is important because it reduces error and on a development process of a code it  will enhance the quality of the code and will cost you less on finding the errors. It will also help to grab the bugs.

Benefits of Linting

Some of the important useful benefits of listing are discussed below :

• Improved the code quality: It will help to improve and to measure the quality of code.

• Increases the maintenance and Readability of a code: It also assists the style, maintenance and readability of a code.

• Users gathered more because of getting educated about the quality of code.

• Reduces error: One of the main functions of linting is to analyze and deduct the error in the production.

• Having secure code: Some linters gives attention to the safety and performance to analyze the source code.

Why should you use linters?

The first thing that comes to mind is why only linters?

Why do we use it?

• Because by using it you will find fewer errors and that saves time while writing a code. One of the other things is that linters respond instantly.
• It has automation that means while writing a code you will get an instant response by using a plugin in your text editor.
• Linters maintain the coding style better. Printing the code will give you the best results. There is a word called prettier which helps in printing and that helps in other languages like CSS, LESS, SCSS, TypeScript.
• It is easy to use with a free of cost .
• Users love it because it save the time of users.

So at last, it is a decent tool that you use.

Some popular Linting Tools

♥ Python

Python can be used effectively to create any kind of program that does not need direct access to the computer hardware. It is a general-purpose programming language based on the ABC language. It is high-level programming with an open-source that was formulated in 1991 by Guido van Rossum. This language is presented by (PSF) Python Software Foundation.

Google App Engine, Maya, YouTube, Google search, iRobot machines etc. are the application and companies that assigned Python at the time of Python development. In the comparison of other languages like C, C++ this program gets slower although its development time is quick.

Some of the python analysis tools are  Mega-Linter, mypy, flake8, pylint , that we are going to discuss below:

♣ Mega-Linter

It’s an open source tool consists of different characteristics like spelling mistakes, copy paste formats, some distinct language with a list of different tooling formats, user can easily pertain formatting and auto-fixes to clear the project. It is free of cost, anyone can use it for any purpose like personal use, professional use etc. it can deduct and read the error log easily .

♣ mypy

It benefited from the Python version of 3.5 + and mypy was initially published on 28 October 2012 and decadent it published on 10 March 2020. For Python, mypy is a static type checker. If you want to operate mypy then you require Python 3.5.

♣ Flake8

This is the best Python code which benefited from Python 2+ and 3+. By launching the single flakes8 command here you can operate all the tools and it also operates a particular category of errors, indication and much more. It also creates the configuration file and then the storage of it .

♣ Pylint

It supports the Python version of 3.5+ and gives a comprehensive report or data of the code. It is free of cost and initial released on 10 March 2019.

♥ JavaScript

JavaScript is designed by Brendan Eich and Netscape and was first released on  4 December 1995 which is stable and released by ECMAScript in 2020.  A programming language that is used for many things like web development, application, web applications, web browsers etc. With the comparison of another language as common as HTML and CSS, JavaScript has more characteristics on web pages. For connecting with a user JavaScript provides some elements that interactive web pages. On Amazon, we use JavaScript that contains a search box.  It’s a scripting language that helps functional programming styles and a useful programming language for a web page. You can easily play audio music and a video and have an appearance of animation as well. In this language, a programmer can find all calculations related to math’s and permits you to add HTML data to the DOM.

Some of the JavaScript analysis tools are as follow :

♣ JSLint

This tool was released recently on 30 June, 2021 and developed by Douglas Crockford,Palantir Technologies. This tool is used in a software which is basically for searching the JavaScript code that complies with coding rules.

♣ ESLint

It’s an open-source JavaScript tool that was developed in June 2013 by Nicholas C.Zakas which is used to find the error, problems or a code. It contributes to an easy installation and a fast environment which is written by using Node.js. It does not provide any specific coding style.

♣ JSCS

Here you can generate your code and can parcel this code as an npmpackage .

♣ Stylelint

It is used by the growing community like WordPress, Facebook,Github. It grabs the errors and has embedded style from HTML, CSS-in-JS objects. This tool is examined with so many unit tests as around 15000.

♥ Java

Some of the Java analysis tools are discussed below :

♣ SonarQube

This tool manage the quality of code and it’s a open source platform . It analysis security, code smells and recognize bugs. It can easily recognize and can report the things like code coverage, coding standards, duplicate code etc.

♣ CodeScene

This tool is used for software which visualized the integrity .  This tool is fully automated.

♣ ShiftLeft

The dashboard of ShiftLeft  consists of URL that we can used it and it will organized the CPG locally ( Code Property Graph)  for analysis it will later it will upload on ShiftLeft cloud.

♣ Checkstyle

It is one of the most popular Linting tools, it will works on Ant and CLI. It will also support Google Java style, Sun Code convention.

♣ PMD

An  open source analyzer code which is for java, Salesforce Apex, PLSQL, XML, XSL and many more.  It’s operating system is Window, macOS, Linux. The programming language of PMD is Java. To find the duplicate code it has an (CPD) Copy – Paste- Detector.

♣ Uncrustify

For the project  C-based or C-analogue- based workflow Uncrustify is very important. Here the code was automatically updated with all the important things like bracket, its format, the ruleset.

Conclusion

Incorporating code linting into your development workflow is a game-changer for maintaining code quality and consistency. By catching errors early, enforcing coding standards, and streamlining the review process, linters enhance both individual productivity and team collaboration. Whether you’re working on a solo project or part of a large team, the benefits of code linting are undeniable.

As we continue to navigate an ever-evolving tech landscape, adopting robust linting practices ensures our code remains clean, efficient, and adaptable. Embrace the power of code linting and take a proactive step towards better code health and a more efficient development process.