Refactoring Configuration Management in Go: From Inline to Structured Constants

somaz — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 07:13:39 +0000

Introduction

In this post, we will review a refactoring process for loading application configuration in Go.
The original implementation (referred to as Version 2) directly used hard-coded environment variable names inside the Load function.
The refactored version (Version 1) introduced constant definitions for environment variable keys and default values, improving both readability and maintainability.

Original Code (Version 2)

In the initial implementation, environment variable keys were inline literals within the Load function:

func Load() *Config {
    return &Config{
        EnvKeys:          os.Getenv("INPUT_ENV_KEY"),
        EnvValues:        os.Getenv("INPUT_ENV_VALUE"),
        OutputKeys:       os.Getenv("INPUT_OUTPUT_KEY"),
        OutputValues:     os.Getenv("INPUT_OUTPUT_VALUE"),
        GithubEnv:        os.Getenv("GITHUB_ENV"),
        GithubOutput:     os.Getenv("GITHUB_OUTPUT"),
        Delimiter:        getEnvWithDefault("INPUT_DELIMITER", ","),
        FailOnEmpty:      getBoolEnv("INPUT_FAIL_ON_EMPTY", true),
        TrimWhitespace:   getBoolEnv("INPUT_TRIM_WHITESPACE", true),
        CaseSensitive:    getBoolEnv("INPUT_CASE_SENSITIVE", true),
        ErrorOnDuplicate: getBoolEnv("INPUT_ERROR_ON_DUPLICATE", true),
        MaskSecrets:      getBoolEnv("INPUT_MASK_SECRETS", false),
        MaskPattern:      getEnvWithDefault("INPUT_MASK_PATTERN", ""),
        ToUpper:          getBoolEnv("INPUT_TO_UPPER", false),
        ToLower:          getBoolEnv("INPUT_TO_LOWER", false),
        EncodeURL:        getBoolEnv("INPUT_ENCODE_URL", false),
        EscapeNewlines:   getBoolEnv("INPUT_ESCAPE_NEWLINES", true),
        MaxLength:        getIntEnv("INPUT_MAX_LENGTH", 0),
        AllowEmpty:       getBoolEnv("INPUT_ALLOW_EMPTY", false),
        DebugMode:        getBoolEnv("DEBUG_MODE", false),
    }
}

Issues with This Approach
- Magic Strings: Each environment variable name appears as a literal string, which increases the risk of typos.
- Maintainability: If the environment variable name changes, it needs to be updated in multiple places.
- Lack of Central Documentation: No clear central reference point for all supported environment variables.

Refactored Code (Version 1)

The refactored version introduces central constants for environment variable names and default values:

// Environment Variable Names Constants
const (
    // Input Environment Variables
    EnvKeyInput           = "INPUT_ENV_KEY"
    EnvValueInput         = "INPUT_ENV_VALUE"
    OutputKeyInput        = "INPUT_OUTPUT_KEY"
    OutputValueInput      = "INPUT_OUTPUT_VALUE"
    DelimiterInput        = "INPUT_DELIMITER"
    FailOnEmptyInput      = "INPUT_FAIL_ON_EMPTY"
    TrimWhitespaceInput   = "INPUT_TRIM_WHITESPACE"
    CaseSensitiveInput    = "INPUT_CASE_SENSITIVE"
    ErrorOnDuplicateInput = "INPUT_ERROR_ON_DUPLICATE"
    MaskSecretsInput      = "INPUT_MASK_SECRETS"
    MaskPatternInput      = "INPUT_MASK_PATTERN"
    ToUpperInput          = "INPUT_TO_UPPER"
    ToLowerInput          = "INPUT_TO_LOWER"
    EncodeURLInput        = "INPUT_ENCODE_URL"
    EscapeNewlinesInput   = "INPUT_ESCAPE_NEWLINES"
    MaxLengthInput        = "INPUT_MAX_LENGTH"
    AllowEmptyInput       = "INPUT_ALLOW_EMPTY"
    DebugModeInput        = "DEBUG_MODE"

    // GitHub Environment Variables
    GithubEnvVar    = "GITHUB_ENV"
    GithubOutputVar = "GITHUB_OUTPUT"
)

// Default Values Constants
const (
    DefaultDelimiter        = ","
    DefaultFailOnEmpty      = true
    DefaultTrimWhitespace   = true
    DefaultCaseSensitive    = true
    DefaultErrorOnDuplicate = true
    DefaultMaskSecrets      = false
    DefaultMaskPattern      = ""
    DefaultToUpper          = false
    DefaultToLower          = false
    DefaultEncodeURL        = false
    DefaultEscapeNewlines   = true
    DefaultMaxLength        = 0
    DefaultAllowEmpty       = false
    DefaultDebugMode        = false
)

// Config holds the application configuration
type Config struct {
    // Input/Output Keys and Values
    EnvKeys      string
    EnvValues    string
    OutputKeys   string
    OutputValues string

    // GitHub File Paths
    GithubEnv    string
    GithubOutput string

    // Input Processing Options
    Delimiter        string
    FailOnEmpty      bool
    TrimWhitespace   bool
    CaseSensitive    bool
    ErrorOnDuplicate bool
    AllowEmpty       bool

    // Value Transformation Options
    ToUpper        bool
    ToLower        bool
    EncodeURL      bool
    EscapeNewlines bool
    MaxLength      int

    // Security Options
    MaskSecrets bool
    MaskPattern string

    // Debug Options
    DebugMode bool
}

// Load loads configuration from environment variables
func Load() *Config {
    return &Config{
        // Input/Output Keys and Values
        EnvKeys:      os.Getenv(EnvKeyInput),
        EnvValues:    os.Getenv(EnvValueInput),
        OutputKeys:   os.Getenv(OutputKeyInput),
        OutputValues: os.Getenv(OutputValueInput),

        // GitHub File Paths
        GithubEnv:    os.Getenv(GithubEnvVar),
        GithubOutput: os.Getenv(GithubOutputVar),

        // Input Processing Options
        Delimiter:        getEnvWithDefault(DelimiterInput, DefaultDelimiter),
        FailOnEmpty:      getBoolEnv(FailOnEmptyInput, DefaultFailOnEmpty),
        TrimWhitespace:   getBoolEnv(TrimWhitespaceInput, DefaultTrimWhitespace),
        CaseSensitive:    getBoolEnv(CaseSensitiveInput, DefaultCaseSensitive),
        ErrorOnDuplicate: getBoolEnv(ErrorOnDuplicateInput, DefaultErrorOnDuplicate),
        AllowEmpty:       getBoolEnv(AllowEmptyInput, DefaultAllowEmpty),

        // Value Transformation Options
        ToUpper:        getBoolEnv(ToUpperInput, DefaultToUpper),
        ToLower:        getBoolEnv(ToLowerInput, DefaultToLower),
        EncodeURL:      getBoolEnv(EncodeURLInput, DefaultEncodeURL),
        EscapeNewlines: getBoolEnv(EscapeNewlinesInput, DefaultEscapeNewlines),
        MaxLength:      getIntEnv(MaxLengthInput, DefaultMaxLength),

        // Security Options
        MaskSecrets: getBoolEnv(MaskSecretsInput, DefaultMaskSecrets),
        MaskPattern: getEnvWithDefault(MaskPatternInput, DefaultMaskPattern),

        // Debug Options
        DebugMode: getBoolEnv(DebugModeInput, DefaultDebugMode),
    }
}

Question

I modified the code as above, but I think it got too long? Is it a lot? I'm a DevOps engineer and I'm also studying development.

Github Action Go Git Commit Action

somaz — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 02:25:31 +0000

Go Git Commit Action

Introducing Go Git Commit Action

Hello DEV Community! 👋

I'm excited to share a GitHub Action I've developed that might make your CI/CD workflows a bit smoother: Go Git Commit Action.

What is it?

Go Git Commit Action is a GitHub Action written in Go that automates git operations in your workflows. It handles commits, pushes, tags, and even pull request creation - all in one action.

Why I built it

While there are several git automation actions available, I wanted something:

Written in Go for better performance
Combining multiple git operations in one action
Providing flexible options for different workflows
Handling edge cases like empty commits and reference tags

Key Features

Automated Git Operations: Commit, push, and tag in one step
Pull Request Management: Create PRs with custom titles, labels, and auto-branch generation
Tag Management: Create, delete, and reference tags
Performance: Written in Go for efficiency
Flexibility: Configurable for various workflows

Example Usage

Basic Commit

- uses: somaz94/go-git-commit-action@v1
  with:
    user_email: actions@github.com
    user_name: GitHub Actions
    commit_message: Auto commit by GitHub Actions
    branch: main

Creating a Tag

- uses: somaz94/go-git-commit-action@v1
  with:
    user_email: actions@github.com
    user_name: GitHub Actions
    tag_name: v1.0.0
    tag_message: Release version 1.0.0

Creating a Pull Request

- uses: somaz94/go-git-commit-action@v1
  with:
    user_email: actions@github.com
    user_name: GitHub Actions
    create_pr: true
    pr_branch: feature/my-branch
    pr_base: main
    pr_title: "feat: my custom PR title"
    pr_labels: "enhancement,automated"
    github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

Why You Might Like It

Simplify Workflows: Combine multiple git steps into one
Reduce Boilerplate: Less YAML in your workflow files
Flexible Options: Configure only what you need
Reliable Execution: Written in Go for consistent performance

Get Started

You can find the action in the GitHub Marketplace or check out the repository for more examples and documentation.

I'd love to hear your feedback or feature requests! Feel free to open issues or contribute to the project.

Happy automating! 🚀

DEV Community: somaz