You Need a Private Code Repository

Your knowledge should not be allowed to rot away in your brain.

Photo by Luke Chesser on Unsplash

If being a software engineer is your day job, you’re probably all too familiar with using git repositories for your day job. You save all of their code. But what about the code you learn to use while on the job? Those little nuggets of wisdom you discover as part of our natural problem-solving process?

You need to have a personal git repository to ensure you don’t forget those particular little nuggets you learn, make room in your mind for new lessons, and make sure the next time you need to use this code, it’s easy to retrieve it.

Let’s dive more in-depth into those points.

Save Nuggets of Wisdom

One of the nuggets of wisdom I learned while developing a feature that required me to use the multiprocessing module in Python was the Process Executor and how it makes stuff easier and reduces joins and other maintenance in your code.

If I didn’t save an example of how to create a Process Executor, I’d be googling it again when I need to use it. Now, I no longer need to do that. I can go back to my notes and save that research time.

Repurpose For Future Consumption

One of the most important aspects of writing *good* code is the concept of loosely-coupled components.

When you save a piece of code for future use, you need to make sure to package it in the easiest way to include it in future projects. If you’ve just plucked the code from inside your repository and copied it, you’ll still need to “adjust” it for other projects that don’t work the same.

If, instead, you save it as a piece of code that can stand on its own (for example, a python module), then you’ll save a lot of time when using it in the future. It would also be less overwhelming to think you need to make those adjustments. Invest the initial effort to make the future use of this code effortless.

Make it Easy to Educate

Once you start documenting your wisdom code, you’ll realize you can share that code online and start educating and building a community around your journey to…