Faiz Shaikh’s Post

One mistake many developers make is not writing enough logs in their applications. Everything works fine during development. But when something breaks in production, the first question is: What actually happened? Without proper logging, debugging becomes guesswork. You can’t see: • What request came in • What data was processed • Where the failure occurred Good logging helps developers understand systems in production. A few simple practices help a lot: • Log important events, not everything • Include useful context in logs • Use structured logging when possible Logging might feel like a small thing. But when production issues happen, good logs can save hours of debugging. #SoftwareEngineering #BackendDevelopment #Programming #Developers #SystemDesign #Coding #TechCareers #SoftwareDevelopment

Debugging always feels harder than building. I spent hours chasing a bug that made no sense. Logs looked clean. Code looked correct. The system still failed. Then I stepped back and reviewed one small assumption. That assumption was wrong. The fix took 5 minutes. The search took 3 hours. This is the reality of debugging. → The problem hides where you least expect it → Small details break entire systems → Assumptions cost more time than complexity Strong engineers do not just write code. They question every layer of it. That is how bugs get solved faster. #SoftwareEngineering #Debugging #Developers #Programming #Tech #ProblemSolving #Coding #Engineering #Mindset #Productivity

A small shift I’m seeing in 2026: Developers are moving from framework-first thinking to problem-first thinking. Instead of asking “Which framework should I use?” More teams are asking: • What problem are we solving? • What scale do we expect? • What complexity can we afford? The stack comes after the answers. The best engineers I know don’t start with tools. They start with constraints. #SoftwareEngineering #Programming #SystemDesign #Tech #DeveloperMindset #Engineering #SoftwareDevelopment #TechTrends #Coding

Three patterns for becoming a good engineer Three ideas I use every day: 1. Separate the “what” from the “how” My functions used to do too much because I thought in terms of tasks, not responsibilities. Now I ask myself: “What would force me to rewrite this?” If there’s more than one answer, I split the function. Yes, the code gets longer. But it becomes far easier to change. 2. Write code for the person debugging it at 2 AM That person might be you - six months from now, with zero context. A simple rule: if understanding requires holding more than 3 things in your head, refactor until it doesn’t. 3. Design for failure first Most of us design the happy path, and only later think about errors. Flip it. Start by listing everything that can go wrong. Treat the success path as just one of many scenarios. This single shift completely changed how I think about reliability. #SoftwareEngineering #CleanCode #CodeReview #Programming #Developers #TechLeadership #CodingLife #Refactoring #CodeQuality #EngineeringCulture #DevMindset #BestPractices #LearnToCode #TechCareers #GrowthMindset

After over 12 years in software engineering, the reality of the role is quite different than many might expect: - 10% Writing code - 40% Debugging real-world issues - 30% Reading and understanding existing systems - 20% Researching, validating, and finding the right solutions Over time, it becomes clear that writing code is just a small part of the job. The real work involves: - Understanding complex systems - Fixing edge cases in production - Making decisions that scale Experience teaches us these lessons, and despite the challenges, we still enjoy every bit of it. #DeveloperLife #Programming #TechLife

Reality of software development: 10% writing code 40% debugging 50% figuring out why something is not working Debugging is not just fixing bugs. It’s about understanding how the system actually behaves. And that’s where real learning happens. #programming #developers #engineering

One small habit that separates good engineers from great ones: They read error messages carefully. It sounds simple. But most debugging sessions start like this: ❌ Skim the error ❌ Guess the problem ❌ Change random code ❌ Run again Instead of doing the most obvious thing: Read the error message fully. Error messages usually tell you: • What failed • Where it failed • Why it failed • What input caused it Yet many developers jump straight to Stack Overflow before understanding the error itself. Over time, I realized something interesting: Great engineers treat errors like clues, not obstacles. They ask: 🔹 What exactly is the system telling me? 🔹 What changed recently? 🔹 What assumption is being violated? 🔹 Where does the failure actually start? Debugging becomes much faster when you trust the system signals. In many cases, the answer was already there… Hidden in the first 3 lines of the stack trace. Sometimes the best debugging tool isn’t a new framework. It’s patience. What’s the most confusing error message you’ve ever seen? #softwareengineering #java #debugging #backend #developers #programming #engineering #tech

Most developers don’t debug. They guess. Adding random logs is not debugging. Real debugging: • reproduce the issue • isolate the cause • verify the fix Better approach: • break the problem • check inputs and outputs • eliminate possibilities Good developers write code. Great developers find problems fast. Which one are you? #softwaredevelopment #programming #developers #coding #techtips

If I had to fire myself as a developer 2 years ago, here’s why: I wrote logs for debugging… not for understanding I solved problems… but didn’t always define them clearly I focused on “working code” instead of “maintainable systems” I avoided edge cases until they became production issues I wasn’t bad. But I wasn’t reliable either. So I made some changes: → I now treat logs as part of the product → I write code assuming someone else will debug it at 2 AM → I spend more time thinking than coding → I actively try to break my own system before others do Still learning. Still improving. If you had to review your past self like a code review… what would you comment? #SoftwareEngineering #Programming #Developers #CodingLife #TechCareers #SystemDesign #BackendDevelopment #Debugging #CodeQuality #Engineering

After 4 years of coding I realized something uncomfortable. Most developers are addicted to complexity. We feel smart when we build complicated systems. But the best engineers I’ve worked with do the opposite. They remove things. Less code. Less services. Less abstraction. Simple systems scale better. Simple code survives longer. The real engineering skill isn't adding complexity. It's deleting it. What’s the best piece of code you ever removed? #SoftwareEngineering #CleanCode #Programming #DeveloperLife