No Stupid Questions (Developer Edition)

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Is it okay to leave tests in your code? (programming.dev)

submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by 3rr4tt1c@programming.dev to c/no_stupid_questions@programming.dev

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Like if I'm using print statements to test my code. Is it okay to leave stuff like that in there when "publishing" the app/program?

Edit: So I meant logging. Not "tests". Using console.log to see if the code is flowing properly. I'll study up on debugging. Also, based on what I managed to grasp from your very helpful comments, it is not okay to do, but the severity of how much of an issue it is depends on the context? Either that or it's completely avoidable in the first place if I just use "automated testing" or "loggers".

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[–] Kissaki@programming.dev 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

It depends.

Whats the user impact? Do they see it on regular use? Do they see it if they look for it? Is that okay? Maybe even helpful for users to debug for themselves or to report issues to you?

Will the log statements remain useful in the future? Or is it noise both in output and code that will reduce readability and maintainability by burying more relevant things.

If they remain useful but more situational and lead to noise, consider putting them behind log levels or configuration flags (even if not app or configuration but a code flag).