RecordNumber beats RecNo and CustomerRecordNumber beats RecordNumber. CustomerNumberCannotBeZero is a greater title for a boolean than doing CustNo > 0. Naming is difficult, however if you happen to take the time, you may give the whole lot a correct title. And if you happen to notice you want a special title, having the Rename refactoring obtainable ought to embolden you to freely and openly title issues clearly and exactly. Clear and expressive names are all the time winners.
Extract Variable
All too typically, we get into a rush after we are coding. As an example, we’ll kind one thing like this:
If CalculateInterestRate(GatherAllInputs()) > 0.6 {
…
}
In different phrases, we move a perform end result straight into one other perform as a part of a boolean expression. That is… problematic. First, it’s onerous to learn. You need to cease and take into consideration all of the steps. Second, and extra importantly, it’s onerous to debug. Should you set a breakpoint on that line, it’s onerous to know the place the code goes to go subsequent.
Nonetheless, if you happen to extract all that code out into one thing extra readable and debuggable, you’ve a a lot better end result:
const AllTheInputs = GatherAllInputs();
const CustomerInterestRate = CalculateInterestRate(AllTheInputs);
const CustomerInterestRateIsHighEnough = CustomerInterestRate > 0.6;
If CustomerInterestRateIsHighEnough {
…
}
That’s clear, beautiful code that’s simple to learn and simple to debug. It’s additionally simple to “write” with the Extract Variable refactoring software.
And to these of you who say that’s an excessive amount of typing, I say, “Laziness is just not a career-enhancing transfer.”
Extract Technique, Rename Variable/Technique/Class, and Extract Variable should not the one refactoring instruments within the toolbox, however they’re probably the most helpful. They’re those that present probably the most profit. If I had to decide on just one to make use of, I’d choose Extract Technique, as a result of it’s the strongest protection in opposition to the frequent downside (temptation?) of sprawling strategies.