Code Smells and Refactoring Techniques: Identifying and Eliminating Technical Debt
Imagine you’re a detective investigating a crime scene. The clues are scattered about, hinting at the perpetrator’s identity. In software engineering, these clues are known as “code smells” – telltale signs that something is amiss in the codebase. Just as a detective follows the trail of evidence, a skilled developer can spot these code smells and use refactoring techniques to eliminate the “technical debt” they represent.
Take the example of a function that has grown too large and complex over time. This is a common code smell known as a “long method.” The function may have started out small and focused, but as new requirements were added, it grew into a tangled mess of conditional statements and loops. This makes the code difficult to understand, maintain, and modify.
To address this code smell, a developer can employ the “extract method” refactoring technique. This involves breaking the long function into smaller, more focused functions that each handle a specific task. By giving these new functions descriptive names and keeping them short and simple, the overall structure and intent of the code becomes much clearer.
Other common code smells include duplicated code, large classes, and excessive commenting. Each of these can be addressed through specific refactoring techniques like “extract class,” “move method,” and “rename variable.” By consistently identifying and addressing code smells, developers can keep their codebases clean, maintainable, and free of technical debt.
Author: John Rowan
I am a Senior Android Engineer and I love everything to do with computers. My specialty is Android programming but I actually love to code in any language specifically learning new things.Share this:
