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Cover image for Code Smell 06 - Too Clever Programmer
Maxi Contieri
Maxi Contieri

Posted on • Updated on • Originally published at maximilianocontieri.com

Code Smell 06 - Too Clever Programmer

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

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;
}
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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;
}
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Detection

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

Relations

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


This article is part of the CodeSmell Series.

Last update: 2021/06/08

Top comments (7)

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mt3o_23 profile image
Teodor Kulej

You are of course aware that math background promotes using single character names for variables? Also, there are valid (due to historical reasons) short names, like i for iterator in a for loop?

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dakujem profile image
Andrej Rypo

The code in the "wrong" example is not being clever at all. It's just obfuscated. That kind is typically written by juniors trying to look smart.
I'd swap the "A.K.A." section with the headline.

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tayyabtalha profile image
Tayyab Talha • Edited

There is no difference between wrong and right code.

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oloryn profile image
Ben Coleman

Refresh the page. This appears to be a bug in (at least) the Android DEV app.

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tayyabtalha profile image
Tayyab Talha

Yep you are right

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mcsee profile image
Maxi Contieri

From a machine point of view it isn't. The semantic parsing trees are equivalent

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bn_geek profile image
Mohcin Bounouara

In the point.