JS Refactoring Combo: Simplify If-Else Variable Initialization

If-statements are often used to initialize variables with different values depending on a condition. This can lead to unnecessary code duplication and can often be shortened with the conditional operator.

Before (Example)

let movedObject;
if (direction === "left") {
  movedObject = moveLeft(original);
} else {
  movedObject = moveRight(original);
}

Refactoring Steps

💡  The refactoring steps are using P42 JavaScript Assistant v1.99.

1. Convert the if-else statement into a conditional expression
2. Merge variable declaration and initialization
3. Convert let to const

After (Example)

const movedObject = direction === "left"
  ? moveLeft(original)
  : moveRight(original);

The change to const is only possible if the variable is not re-assigned later. It has the advantage that it communicates the immutability of movedObject.

Comments

[Muhammad Harith Zainudin]

This is good! Sometimes we don't realise that our code can be shortened. Will surely try to install p42 after this!