code review checklist
Introduction
- Understand the purpose of the code review and what is expected to be covered in the review
- Identify the scope of the code review, including specific files or modules to be reviewed
- Check that the reviewer's name and contact information is listed.
- Ensure the reviewer is familiar with the codebase and relevant technologies.
- Verify that the reviewer has sufficient availability to conduct a thorough review.
- Confirm that the reviewer has the necessary expertise to assess the code quality and identify potential issues.
- Read the project documentation, including requirements, design documents, and any relevant guidelines
- Understand the goals and objectives of the project, as well as any specific technical or business requirements
- Request any relevant documentation, such as architectural diagrams, API documentation, or user manuals
- Review any existing code documentation, such as comments or README files
- Review the code change request or issue ticket to understand the context of the code changes
- Identify the impact of the code changes on the overall project or system
- Discuss with the team or project lead to identify any specific objectives or areas of focus for the code review
- Consider any specific concerns or risks associated with the code changes
- Seek clarification on the code review process, including any required documentation or tools
- Discuss any doubts or questions about the code review process with the team or project lead
Code Structure and Organization
- Use the same number of spaces or tabs for indentation throughout the codebase.
- Indent code blocks consistently to improve readability.
- Avoid mixing spaces and tabs for indentation.
- Follow a consistent naming convention for variables, functions, and classes.
- Use descriptive names that accurately represent the purpose of the entity.
- Avoid using abbreviations or overly long names.
- Include comments to explain the purpose, functionality, or usage of code.
- Use comments sparingly and only when necessary to avoid cluttering the code.
- Ensure comments are up-to-date and reflect the current state of the code.
- Break down code into modular components that can be reused in different parts of the project.
- Avoid writing duplicate code by extracting common functionality into reusable functions or classes.
- Design code in a way that promotes separation of concerns and modularity.
- Organize code files in a logical and intuitive directory structure.
- Group related files together in the same directory or module.
- Avoid placing unrelated files in the same directory.
- Follow a consistent code formatting style throughout the codebase.
- Adhere to the established style guidelines of the project or organization.
- Use automated tools or linters to enforce code formatting rules.
- Organize code blocks and functions in a way that makes the code easy to read and understand.
- Group related code blocks or functions together.
- Avoid placing unrelated code blocks or functions in close proximity.
- Properly manage dependencies and use a package manager to handle external libraries.
- Organize project files and directories according to the conventions of the chosen package manager.
- Ensure that all necessary dependencies are declared and tracked.
- Divide code into modules or classes based on their responsibilities.
- Avoid mixing unrelated functionality in the same module or class.
- Ensure that each module or class has a clear and specific purpose.
- Apply appropriate design patterns and architectural principles to improve code structure and maintainability.
- Follow established software design principles such as SOLID.
- Use design patterns to solve common software design problems.
- Use descriptive and meaningful names for variables, functions, and classes.
- Avoid using generic or ambiguous names.
- Ensure that the naming conventions are consistent throughout the codebase.
- Avoid duplicating code by extracting common functionality into reusable functions or classes.
- Simplify complex code blocks by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable parts.
- Use appropriate abstractions and design patterns to reduce code complexity.
- Handle exceptions and errors gracefully to prevent crashes or unexpected behavior.
- Use appropriate exception handling mechanisms such as try-catch blocks.
- Provide meaningful error messages and logging for debugging purposes.
- Document the overall structure and organization of the codebase.
- Include high-level diagrams or explanations to help understand the code architecture.
- Update the documentation regularly to reflect any changes in the code structure.
Correctness and Functionality
- Review the code to ensure that it accurately implements the specified requirements.
- Verify that all required features and functionalities are present and working correctly.
- Check that the code meets the expected behavior and produces the desired outputs.
- Check if the code validates and sanitizes input data to prevent security vulnerabilities and unexpected behavior.
- Ensure that input data is properly validated and validated against defined rules or constraints.
- Verify that the code handles invalid input gracefully and provides appropriate error messages.
- Review the code to ensure that exceptions and errors are handled properly.
- Check if the code catches and handles exceptions and errors effectively.
- Ensure that error messages are informative and help in troubleshooting and debugging.
- Check if the code uses libraries and APIs properly and according to their documentation.
- Ensure that the code uses the correct version of libraries and APIs.
- Verify that the code adheres to any usage guidelines or restrictions imposed by the libraries and APIs.
- Review the code to ensure that it handles edge cases and corner cases correctly.
- Check if the code considers and handles scenarios that are outside the normal range or expected behavior.
- Ensure that the code provides appropriate fallback or default behavior for unexpected inputs or conditions.
- Check if the code follows consistent naming conventions and coding style throughout.
- Ensure that variable names, function names, and other code elements are named consistently and descriptively.
- Review the code for any inconsistencies or deviations from the established coding style guidelines.
- Review the code to ensure that it is adequately commented and documented.
- Check if the code includes comments that explain the purpose, functionality, and logic of each section.
- Ensure that the code includes any necessary documentation, such as API documentation or user guides.
- Check if the code uses efficient algorithms and data structures for the required tasks.
- Review the code to ensure that it avoids unnecessary computations, iterations, or redundant data structures.
- Verify that the code optimizes resource usage, such as memory or processing power, where applicable.
- Review the code to ensure that it includes proper error logging and reporting mechanisms.
- Check if the code logs errors and exceptions in a consistent and useful manner.
- Ensure that the code provides appropriate error messages or notifications to users or administrators.
- Verify that the code complies with established coding standards and best practices.
- Check if the code follows the recommended coding style, naming conventions, and code organization.
- Review the code for any violations of common coding standards and best practices, such as code duplication or unused variables.
- Ensure that the code has been thoroughly tested for all functionalities and scenarios.
- Check if the code includes unit tests, integration tests, and other necessary testing mechanisms.
- Review the test coverage to ensure that it covers all code paths and edge cases.
- Verify that the code complies with the specified design patterns and architectural principles.
- Check if the code follows the recommended design patterns and architectural styles.
- Review the code for any deviations or violations of the specified design patterns and architectural principles.
- Review the code to ensure that it handles race conditions and concurrency issues correctly.
- Check if the code includes proper synchronization mechanisms, such as locks or semaphores.
- Ensure that the code avoids deadlock or livelock situations and provides appropriate concurrency control.
- Check if the code effectively manages memory and optimizes resource utilization.
- Review the code to ensure that it avoids memory leaks, excessive memory usage, or resource wastage.
- Verify that the code properly releases resources, such as closing file handles or network connections.
- Verify that the code considers scalability and extensibility requirements.
- Check if the code can handle increased workloads or larger datasets without significant performance degradation.
- Ensure that the code can be easily extended or modified to accommodate future requirements or changes.
- Review the code to ensure that it complies with relevant industry regulations and standards.
- Check if the code follows security, privacy, accessibility, or other industry-specific guidelines.
- Ensure that the code meets any legal or compliance requirements imposed by the industry or organization.
- Review the code for any code smells or indicators of poor code quality.
- Check if the code follows clean code principles, such as simplicity, readability, and maintainability.
- Ensure that the code avoids code duplication, unnecessary complexity, or overly long methods or classes.
- Verify that the code properly handles security-related concerns, such as authentication and authorization.
- Check if the code follows secure coding practices and protects sensitive data or operations.
- Review the code for any vulnerabilities or weaknesses that could be exploited by malicious actors.
- Review the code to ensure that it considers internationalization and localization requirements.
- Check if the code supports multiple languages, character encodings, or cultural preferences.
- Ensure that the code separates text or UI elements from the code logic to facilitate translation or localization.
- Check if the code validates outputs and expected results to ensure correctness.
- Review the code to ensure that it compares actual outputs or results with the expected outputs or results.
- Verify that the code includes appropriate checks or assertions to validate the correctness of the outputs.
- Verify that the code integrates correctly with external systems and services.
- Check if the code communicates with external systems or services using the correct protocols or APIs.
- Ensure that the code handles any errors or exceptions that may occur during the integration process.
- Review the code to ensure that it handles data integrity and data validation correctly.
- Check if the code validates input data, enforces data constraints, or performs necessary data sanitization.
- Ensure that the code includes appropriate mechanisms to prevent data corruption, loss, or unauthorized modifications.
- Check if the code identifies and mitigates potential performance bottlenecks.
- Review the code for any inefficient algorithms, resource-intensive operations, or slow database queries.
- Verify that the code includes optimizations, such as caching, indexing, or asynchronous processing, where applicable.
- Review the code to ensure that it includes adequate error handling and graceful failure recovery mechanisms.
- Check if the code catches and handles errors or exceptions properly, avoiding unexpected program termination.
- Ensure that the code provides appropriate fallback or recovery mechanisms in case of failures or errors.
Use in Manifestly