Organizations across the world today and deploying the advantages of Salesforce Sandboxes for software development processes. These sandboxes give developers an isolated environment separate from the production org for coding and configuration.
They can use these sandboxes for the purpose of testing, training, continuous integration, quality assurance, and more. The biggest advantage of Salesforce Sandboxes is they are simple for a developer to use and ensure that the production org is never compromised in any way.
Different types of Salesforce Sandboxes and their unique functionalities
As mentioned above, Salesforce Sandboxes are ideal for testing and development in isolated environments. The Developer Sandbox has a copy of the configuration of the production org that is also known as the metadata. The Developer Pro Salesforce Sandbox performs the same function as the Developer sandbox, but you can test and develop larger sets here.
You are able to get a storage limit of 1GB against the 200MB of the Developer Sandbox. It has a copy of the metadata of your organization, and you can use it for managing more quality assurance and development tasks for user training or integration testing.
The Partial Copy Sandbox is perfect for being a testing environment. You are able to get a copy of the metadata of the production org as well as its sample that you have defined in a sandbox template is created by you. This sandbox is most suited for quality assurance tasks like training, testing for user acceptance, and integration testing.
Unlike the developer and the Developer Pro sandbox, you need to pay for it. The Salesforce partial data sandbox pricing depends upon the Edition you are buying. You can visit the official site of Salesforce to view the current prices before you decide on the one that is best intended for your use.
Like the Partial Sandbox, you need to purchase the Full Sandbox that gives you complete support when it comes to the testing of load, performance, and staging. These sandboxes are a complete replica of the metadata in the organization and include the object records, the fields, attachments, and more.
However, the time for the refresh interval of the Full sandbox is longer than the other three, and this is why when developers are working on projects with tight deadlines, it does become challenging for them to work with this sandbox.
They need to take the duration of the refresh interval into account when they are planning the timelines of the project. The duration is not uniform all the time, as it depends upon the contents of the sandbox and the other sandboxes that are in the queue for the refresh interval.
Experts in the field who complete Salesforce certification say developers and admins that use Salesforce always rely on the benefits of continuous integration so that they can automate more processes over time.
The importance of code reviews for creating top-quality software programs and apps
How does code reviews help developers and admins get better performing software programs and apps? This is a question that most developers ask themselves when they are working on software development projects in an organization. Experts in the field say developers and admins that use Salesforce always rely on the benefits of continuous integration so that they can automate more processes over time. This is, in fact, a wise and smart choice over-performing manual deploys with the aid of changesets. However, though automation is a prudent step, note that it cannot detect each and every issue. The only way for you to arrest issues and save time when it comes to quality software programs is to embrace the benefits of code reviews.
Code reviews will ensure that multiple developers in the team have seen every line of your code in the Salesforce program or application. This means that every workflow rule, Visualforce page, and every Apex line gets many eyes to check and review the code.
Code review is the difference between continuous delivery and continuous integration. It is a simple concept of comprehension. The code review is suitably named as it is the practice of having another admin or developer on the team to review the codes you have created before you finally upload it upstream.
Code reviews do play a crucial role in giving the software program or app the competitive edge it deserves
There are a few factors that code reviewers look for, and they have been listed below-
- The quality of the code and logic errors- The reviewers need to check whether there are mistakes or any kind of error in the logic of the code. They need to think out of the box to provide the code with a distinct edge so that its quality is improved. At the same time, they need to ascertain whether the code cause problems if it is extended to multiple users and does the code that has been created comply with the style guide that has been laid down. They need to ensure that the code is clearly defined and commented well. The new members of the team who have not written this code or even any person who has not even written it should be able to understand it now and in the future.
- Detect any criteria that are missing for acceptance- The code reviewers need to carefully scrutinize the code and look for any missing features. It should adequately address all the needs as written down by the developer or admin.
- Evaluate the test coverage- They need to ensure whether any new tests need to be written because of the new code or do the old tests need an update to account for these new changes made to the logic of the application.
Therefore, in conclusion, it can be safely said that if developers and admins of Salesforce incorporate frequent code reviews,they will get better quality software programs and apps. They will be happier and are able to alleviate any tensions when it comes to the functionality of the software program to the end-user and its quality. They are able to sleep better when the end-user is satisfied with their work!