Best Practices for Writing Efficient Apex Code in Salesforce. Most Important Points for a Salesforce Developers 😀

When developing in Salesforce, it’s essential to follow best practices for writing efficient and effective Apex code. This not only ensures better performance but also helps you avoid common pitfalls that can lead to governor limit exceptions or deployment errors. Here are ten best practices to keep in mind:

1. Bulkify Your Code

Always ensure that your code can handle multiple records simultaneously. This means using collections and avoiding single-record operations to enhance performance.

2. Avoid SOQL Queries and DML Operations Inside FOR Loops

Never place SOQL queries or DML statements (such as update, insert, or delete) within a for loop. Doing so can lead to hitting governor limits quickly, as Salesforce imposes strict limits on the number of SOQL queries and DML statements that can be executed in a single transaction.

3. Bulkify Code for Helper/Utility Methods

Design your helper or utility methods to handle collections of records. Use collections such as Lists, Sets, Maps, or Arrays to process multiple records at once efficiently.

4. Use Collections, Streamline Queries, and Efficient For Loops

Utilize Apex collections to streamline your queries and avoid unnecessary calls. Optimize your loops to minimize the number of iterations, which can enhance overall performance.

5. Streamline Multiple Triggers on the Same Object

Instead of writing multiple triggers on the same object, consolidate them into a single trigger. Use a helper or utility class to call methods from this single trigger, ensuring a more organized and efficient codebase.

6. Querying Large Data Sets

Be cautious when querying large data sets, as SOQL queries can return a maximum of 50,000 records. If you anticipate needing to handle more than this, utilize a SOQL query for loop to process records in batches without exceeding governor limits.

7. Use Limits Apex Methods

Implement Limits Apex methods to monitor your resource consumption during transactions. This proactive approach helps you avoid hitting governor limits and makes your code more robust.

8. Use @future Methods Appropriately

Use @future methods for handling bulk operations or processing many records asynchronously. This approach frees up resources and allows you to manage larger data sets more effectively.

9. Write Test Methods to Verify Large Datasets

Create comprehensive test scenarios that verify your Apex code’s ability to handle large datasets. This ensures your code behaves as expected under various conditions and meets Salesforce testing requirements.

10. Avoid Hardcoding IDs

Steer clear of hardcoding RecordTypeIds or any IDs in your code. This practice can lead to errors during deployment, as IDs may change between environments. Instead, use dynamic methods to retrieve the necessary IDs at runtime.

Conclusion

Following these best practices will help you write efficient, scalable, and maintainable Apex code in Salesforce. For more detailed guidance on best practices, please refer to the Salesforce Best Practice Reference Guide.