Soft Coding
Soft coding is a software development practice where configuration values, business rules, or logic are stored externally (e.g., in configuration files, databases, or environment variables) rather than hardcoded into the source code. This approach enhances flexibility by allowing changes to be made without modifying and redeploying the application code. It is commonly used for settings like API endpoints, feature flags, and environment-specific parameters.
Developers should use soft coding when building applications that require frequent configuration updates, need to adapt to different environments (e.g., development, staging, production), or support dynamic behavior like A/B testing. It reduces deployment overhead and minimizes the risk of errors from code changes, making systems more maintainable and scalable. For example, in microservices architectures, soft coding allows services to be reconfigured independently.