Study conducted as a part of the implementation of the project: “Entering American, British and Swedish markets with a comprehensive service of computer programs renovation (refactoring) by Codema”, No. POPW.Ol.02.00-06-0069/22. The project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the Operational Programme Eastern Poland 2014-2020.
EU funding for the project: 851,663.82 PLN
Creating perfect code isn’t straightforward – what to watch out for?
Despite developers’ efforts to create the best possible code, they often encounter a range of problems that can affect the overall quality and efficiency of their work. Recognizing and solving these issues is crucial for maintaining a healthy codebase that is easy to maintain, expand, and test. In this article, we’ll look at the most common problems in code that developers encounter daily, their causes, and effects.
Bloated Code
The first issue we might encounter is bloated code. This is code that is too large and complicated, making it difficult to understand, maintain, and modify. Bloated code is characterized by long methods, long classes, a long list of parameters, duplication of variables across multiple classes, and the use of primitive fields instead of simple classes.
Incomplete or Improper Use of Object Orientation
Another problem is the incomplete or improper use of object orientation. This means the code breaks the principles of object orientation, making it difficult to understand and maintain. Examples of such misuse include duplication of functionality, complex switches that could be replaced with polymorphism, and the use of temporary variables in methods.
Change Blockers
Another issue is the presence of what are known as change blockers. This means that a change in one class requires changes in other, unrelated methods. It is time-consuming and complicates the introduction of improvements or extensions to the code.
Redundant Code Elements
Another problem is the presence of redundant code elements. These can be excessive comments, code duplications, unused code, unused classes, or unused methods. Such elements do not add anything new to the code and should be removed.
Connectors
The last problem we might encounter is connectors. These are elements of the application whose only task is to call functionality implemented in other classes and pass the results to the calling class. Examples of connectors are methods referring to other objects, classes drawing data from the internal fields and methods of another class, chains of calls, and classes whose only responsibility is to call a method in another class.
If you care about clean, understandable code – write to us! Our specialists at Codema are eager to help you optimize your software.
