Editing Source code (section)

==Quality==
{{main article|Software quality}}

[[Software quality]] is an overarching term that can refer to a code's correct and efficient behavior, its reusability and [[porting|portability]], or the ease of modification.{{sfn|Galin|2018|p=26}} It is usually more cost-effective to build quality into the product from the beginning rather than try to add it later in the development process.{{sfn|O'Regan|2022|pp=68, 117}} Higher quality code will reduce lifetime cost to both suppliers and customers as it is more reliable and [[maintainability|easier to maintain]].{{sfn|O'Regan|2022|pp=3, 268}}{{sfn|Varga|2018|p=12}} 

Maintainability is the quality of software enabling it to be easily modified without breaking existing functionality.{{sfn|Varga|2018|p=5}} Following coding conventions such as using clear function and variable names that correspond to their purpose makes maintenance easier.{{sfn|Tripathy |Naik|2014|pp=296-297}} Use of [[conditional loop]] statements only if the code could execute more than once, and eliminating code that will never execute can also increase understandability.{{sfn|Tripathy |Naik|2014|p=309}} Many software development organizations neglect maintainability during the development phase, even though it will increase long-term costs.{{sfn|Varga|2018|p=12}} [[Technical debt]] is incurred when programmers, often out of laziness or urgency to meet a deadline, choose quick and dirty solutions rather than build maintainability into their code.{{sfn|Varga|2018|pp=6-7}} A common cause is underestimates in [[software development effort estimation]], leading to insufficient resources allocated to development.{{sfn|Varga|2018|p=7}} A challenge with maintainability is that many [[software engineering]] courses do not emphasize it.{{sfn|Varga|2018|pp=7-8}} Development engineers who know that they will not be responsible for maintaining the software do not have an incentive to build in maintainability.<ref name=Offutt/>