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The real cost of code debt

Code quality tools deliver peace of mind and help you pay off your technical debt


By Stephan Schulze

Can you detect and defuse the ticking bombs hiding inside your source code? Can you estimate its overall quality or how much time it would take to “pay off” your technical debt?

If you haven’t got a clue, you’re doing it wrong.

The screenshots below are self-explanatory for some, but it’s still worth reminding (ourselves and everyone else) that measuring code quality is essential when you need to

  1. Identify bugs
  2. Fix security vulnerabilities
  3. Reduce technical debt

Code quality tools help you help yourself:

  • Get an indication of how quality develops over time
  • Understand how the next commit will impact your codebase
  • Make a pragmatic, data-driven decision about your investment in maintenance and cleanup.

Check out my LinkedIn post, where you’ll find tools recommended by the community, and let me know which ones you’re using.