Code difficult to read, tricky with names without semantic. Sometimes using language's accidental complexity.

TL;DR: Don't pretend you are too smart. Clean code asks for readability and simplicity.

Problems

• Readability

• Maintainability

• Code Quality

• Premature Optimization

Solutions

• Refactor the code

• Use better names

Examples

• Optimized loops

Exceptions

• Optimized code for low level operations.

Sample Code

Wrong

function primeFactors(n){
  var f = [],  i = 0, d = 2;  

  for (i = 0; n >= 2; ) {
     if(n % d == 0){
       f[i++]=(d); 
       n /= d;
    }
    else{
      d++;
    }     
  }
  return f;
}

Right

function primeFactors(numberToFactor){
  var factors = [], 
      divisor = 2,
      remainder = numberToFactor;

  while(remainder>=2){
    if(remainder % divisor === 0){
       factors.push(divisor); 
       remainder = remainder/ divisor;
    }
    else{
      divisor++;
    }     
  }
  return factors;
}

Detection

Automatic detection is possible in some languages.
Watch some warnings related to complexity, bad names, post increment variables, etc.

Relations

Code Smell 02 - Constants and Magic Numbers

Maxi Contieri ・ Oct 21 '20

#beginners #codenewbie #100daysofcode #codequality

Code Smell 20 - Premature Optimization

Maxi Contieri ・ Nov 8 '20

#oop #developing #coding #codesmell

Also Known as

• Obfuscator

Conclusion

Too clever developers write cryptic code to brag. Smart developers write clean code.
Clear beats clever.

Tags

• Declarative

More Info

Boolean Flags

Credits

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

Programming can be fun, so can cryptography; however they should not be combined.

Kreitzberg & Shneiderman

Software Engineering Great Quotes

Maxi Contieri ・ Dec 28 '20

#codenewbie #programming #quotes #software

This article is part of the CodeSmell Series.

How to Find the Stinky parts of your Code

Maxi Contieri ・ May 21 '21

#codenewbie #tutorial #codequality #beginners

Last update: 2021/06/08