Software development and sustainability

Times are tough, we need change more than ever. Digitalization may either help us or shroud the needed changes in society. To address technology as one of the drivers of sustainability mega-trend, we write about tech and sustainability and how they can be benefiting each other. – Jyri

🔥 Developing sustainably. Let’s dive straight into the tech. This time we will approach tech-sustainability connection via software development angle. Sustainable software development is the art of developing code that is long-term efficient, adaptive and maintainable. It entails creating software in a way that is both socially and environmentally responsible, as well as being simple to maintain and upgrade as business and technological requirements change.

⭐ Energy efficiency is one part of sustainable programming. This can involve selecting cloud partnerships based on platform hardware energy efficiency, designing the code to be optimized for performance and scalability, as well as utilizing methods like caching, pooling, and lazy loading to lower the amount of resources needed to execute the product. The software will be able to handle increasing usage and data volume as a result without using an excessive amount of energy.

🔍 Reusing existing code and utilizing cloud suitable cloud environments. Using open-source libraries and frameworks, and avoiding needless duplication of functionality are all examples of prudent resource usage. By reducing the quantity of new code that needs to be produced and tested, this can help to lessen the impact the development has on the environment.

🚀 The long-term maintenance of the code, which involves keeping the codebase up to date with the most recent technologies and best practices, as well as designing the code to be flexible and adaptive to changing business and technological needs, is another crucial part.

🔍 Ethics. Last but not least, ethical issues are crucial to sustaining programming. This entails being conscious of the software’s possible effects on society and its users, being open and honest about how data is gathered and used, and taking precautions to safeguard user privacy.

Here are first steps to take towards sustainable software development:

✅ Consider that the energy consumption via network usage is consistent and manageable, be sure to adhere to industry-standard coding conventions and best practices.
✅ Consider how the code will manage greater demand and design it with scalability in mind.
✅ To make sure the code is secure and can be readily modified and extended, it should be tested frequently and refactored.
✅ Be open about data gathering and the practices of identity management

In general, sustainable programming focuses on developing software that is both flexible and maintainable over the long run and efficient and successful in the short term, for the benefit of both the company and society at large.