Salesforce Apex Development: Best Practices for Secure and Scalable Code

Introduction

Salesforce Apex is a powerful programming language used to build custom applications on the Salesforce platform. With its robust features and flexibility, Apex allows developers to create scalable and secure solutions tailored to specific business needs. However, ensuring that your Apex code is both secure and scalable requires adhering to best practices that minimize vulnerabilities and optimize performance. Explores the best practices for Salesforce Apex development and how to achieve secure and scalable code through Salesforce Course Online.

1. Code Security Best Practices

Avoid SOQL and DML Statements Inside Loops

One of the most critical security best practices is to avoid placing SOQL (Salesforce Object Query Language) and DML (Data Manipulation Language) statements inside loops. Doing so can lead to governor limits being exceeded and can severely impact performance.

Example:

// Bad Practice

for (Account acc : accounts) {

    List<Contact> contacts = [SELECT Id FROM Contact WHERE AccountId = :acc.Id];

    update contacts;

}

Improved Practice:

// Good Practice

List<Id> accountIds = new List<Id>();

for (Account acc : accounts) {

    accountIds.add(acc.Id);

}

List<Contact> contacts = [SELECT Id FROM Contact WHERE AccountId IN :accountIds];

update contacts;

Use With Sharing Keyword

The with sharing keyword ensures that your Apex code respects the sharing rules and security settings defined in Salesforce. 

public with sharing class MyClass {

    // Class implementation

}

2. Code Scalability Best Practices

Bulkify Your Code

Bulkifying your code is essential for handling large volumes of data efficiently. Ensure that your code can process multiple records in a single transaction without hitting governor limits.

Example:

// Non-bulkified code

for (Account acc : Trigger.new) {

    acc.Name = ‘Updated Name’;

    update acc;

}

Improved Practice:

// Bulkified code

List<Account> accountsToUpdate = new List<Account>();

for (Account acc : Trigger.new) {

    acc.Name = ‘Updated Name’;

    accountsToUpdate.add(acc);

}

update accountsToUpdate;

Use Batch Apex for Large Data Volumes

For operations involving large data volumes, Batch Apex allows you to process records in manageable chunks, improving performance and preventing governor limit issues.

global class MyBatchClass implements Database.Batchable<sObject> {

    global Database.QueryLocator start(Database.BatchableContext BC) {

        return Database.getQueryLocator(‘SELECT Id FROM Account’);

    }

    global void execute(Database.BatchableContext BC, List<Account> scope) {

        // Process records

    }

    global void finish(Database.BatchableContext BC) {

        // Post-processing

    }

}

3. Monitoring and Optimization

Utilize Debug Logs and Governor Limits

Salesforce provides debug logs and governor limit statistics to help developers monitor performance and troubleshoot issues. Regularly reviewing these logs can help identify and resolve inefficiencies.

Implement Efficient Error Handling

Use custom exceptions and error messages to provide clear feedback and ensure that your code behaves predictably under error conditions.

try {

    // Code that might throw an exception

} catch (Exception e) {

    // Handle exception

    System.debug(‘An error occurred: ‘ + e.getMessage());

}

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Governor Limits in Salesforce

Governor Limit	Maximum Limit
SOQL Queries per Transaction	100
DML Statements per Transaction	150
CPU Time per Transaction (seconds)	10
Heap Size (MB)	6

Comparison of Code Performance

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Conclusion

Adhering to best practices in Salesforce Apex development is crucial for building secure, scalable, and high-performance applications. By avoiding common pitfalls such as SOQL and DML statements inside loops, using the with sharing keyword, and bulkifying code, developers can enhance both security and scalability. Utilizing Batch Apex and monitoring tools further ensures efficient handling of large data volumes.