Have you ever heard of the term “developer experience” but weren’t quite sure what it meant? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. In fact, even though the term has been around for a while, there’s still a lot of confusion about what developer experience (or “DX”) actually is.
In a nutshell, DX can be defined as the sum total of how easy or difficult it is to develop software on a particular platform. This includes everything from the quality of the documentation to the availability of support resources to the actual coding experience.
In other words, DX is all about making life easier for developers so they can focus on creating great software instead of struggling with technical issues.
Why DX matters
As the world becomes increasingly digital, the importance of DX has only grown. After all, if developers are struggling to use a particular platform, that’s going to have a direct impact on the quality of the software they’re able to produce.
And in today’s competitive marketplace, businesses need to be able to move quickly and release high-quality software on a regular basis in order to stay ahead of the competition.
This is why companies like Google and Microsoft have invested so much time and energy into making their platforms as developer-friendly as possible.
They know that by making it easier for developers to create software for their platforms, they’ll be able to attract more top talent and release better products.