DEV Community

Cover image for Code Smell 119 - Stairs Code
Maxi Contieri
Maxi Contieri

Posted on • Originally published at maximilianocontieri.com

4 1

Code Smell 119 - Stairs Code

Nested boolean conditions express a business rule. Not an IF

TL;DR: Avoid checking for boolean expressions and returning an explicit boolean.

Problems

  • Declarativeness

  • Ninja Code

  • Readability

  • Arrow Code

Solutions

  1. Return a boolean business formula value.

Context

When dealing with boolean formulas, it is more readable to show a business boolean formula than a stair of boolean checks followed by returning an explicit true/false;

Sample Code

Wrong

def is_platypus(self):
    if self.is_mammal():
        if self.has_fur():
            if self.has_beak():
                if self.has_tail():
                    if self.can_swim():
                        return True
    return False

# This is also wrong since it is polluted with IFs and not readable by a biologist
def is_platypus(self):
    if not self.is_mammal():
        return False
    if not self.has_fur():
        return False
    if not self.has_beak():
        return False
    if not self.has_tail():
        return False
    if not self.can_swim():
        return False 
    return True
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Right

def is_platypus(self):
    return self.is_mammal() &&  self.has_fur() && self.has_beak() && self.has_tail() && self.can_swim()

#We can even group conditions according to animal taxonomies
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Detection

[X] Automatic

Based on syntax trees, we can safely refactor the code removing the explicit boolean value.

Tags

  • Boolean

Conclusion

Beware of returning booleans.

After the return, you will need an If statement which is also a code smell.

Relations

More Info

Credits

Photo by Jukan Tateisi on Unsplash

Thanks again to Nico K. for this suggestion.


The real hero of programming is the one who writes negative code.

Douglas McIlroy


This article is part of the CodeSmell Series.

Billboard image

The Next Generation Developer Platform

Coherence is the first Platform-as-a-Service you can control. Unlike "black-box" platforms that are opinionated about the infra you can deploy, Coherence is powered by CNC, the open-source IaC framework, which offers limitless customization.

Learn more

Top comments (0)

A Workflow Copilot. Tailored to You.

Pieces.app image

Our desktop app, with its intelligent copilot, streamlines coding by generating snippets, extracting code from screenshots, and accelerating problem-solving.

Read the docs

👋 Kindness is contagious

Immerse yourself in a wealth of knowledge with this piece, supported by the inclusive DEV Community—every developer, no matter where they are in their journey, is invited to contribute to our collective wisdom.

A simple “thank you” goes a long way—express your gratitude below in the comments!

Gathering insights enriches our journey on DEV and fortifies our community ties. Did you find this article valuable? Taking a moment to thank the author can have a significant impact.

Okay