Performance is a critical aspect of modern software development. sqltuned.com recently hosted a white-hot developer conference with the sole purpose of improving software development practices and processes. The result? Over 25,000 developers showed up for a two-day software development conference, with another 10,000 more expected to attend the two-week-long event. We’ve witnessed tremendous growth in the number of developers attending so far. As a result, today’s developers are looking for new and innovative solutions for performance and scalability problems. The challenges they face are myriad and make it imperative to find the right answers early and often. Let’s take a look at the top tips for improving SQL performance.
Define and understand your application’s requirements
As we’ve just discussed, the foundation of all modern software development is developing a data model. The more specific your requirements are, the easier it will be to create the data model that meets your needs. However, developers often forget this aspect because they’re provided with a ton of general information to work with, and they don’t have to flip out and parse the finer points of the specific. Define your application’s requirements, and you’ll be much less likely to forget them.
Don’t assume you know SQL.
If you’ve been on the team for a while, you might’ve started to notice a “don’t know” feeling among your colleagues. It’s natural for developers to feel clueless when new technologies or solutions are brought to the table. However, you don’t have to put the cart before the horse, and the coach is often the one getting the horse’s legs first. The problem with this approach is that you miss out on some of the more advanced features of modern software.
Create, use, and update your database frequently.
One of the biggest challenges faced by any developer is maintaining their code. It’s something that comes up often in the early stages of development, and it’s something that’s often overlooked. The best solution is to use a tool that lets you update your code right away. For instance, the upcoming .NET Framework 4.5 can be used to create and manage your ASP.NET web apps. However, it would be remiss if we didn’t stress the importance of regularly testing our code. After all, if bugs are being introduced, they need to be reported.
Define your business’s desired database level
If you’re building speech-based software, you’ll want to make your data organized and easily accessible. You can do this by assigning roles to each of your data subjects. For instance, if your business is a bank, you’ll want to ensure that every customer’s information is stored on a separate table. This will make it easier to look up information from a customer’s account history, find accounts with conflicting information, and more.
Communicate with your team frequently.
As we’ve already mentioned, the biggest challenge for any developer is maintaining their code. They’re often required to change the code frequently, leading to issues. One way to combat this is to send regular communication with your team. If developers think they’ve found a bug or need help understanding a feature, they can get it right away. However, you don’t want to keep sending emails that ask, “can you confirm this is correct”? “is this the right answer”? or “is this a good idea”? These questions tend to come up plenty, so it’s good to have a clear set of expectations for how often you need to communicate.
Don’t forget to enjoy the goodies.
Beyond everything we’ve discussed so far, the biggest tip for improving SQL performance is to enjoy your work. There will be times when you feel like you’ve hit a home run, and you’ll have a great time doing so. However, it’s important to remember that the process is never completely perfect. Every process and decision you make in your software builds on the foundation of a good thing. So whether you’re finding a solution for a problem you’ve been facing for a while or just starting, it’s important to remember that there will always be challenges. happyhour.io, a leading software development company, has compiled a list of the top 10 challenges developers experience. These challenges are by no means perfect solutions, but they will give you a good idea of where to start.
Conclusion
As we’ve seen, the top 10 challenges facing developers are many, and they are often related to issues outside the developer’s control. To maximize the benefits, it’s important to find solutions that are easy, affordable, and maintain quality standards. However, it isn’t easy to know where to start with so much information. Luckily, there are plenty of great tips and tricks to help you on your path to improved performance. Use them, and you will see results.
