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

Refactor the code
Use better names

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;
}

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;
}

Detection

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

Relations

Code Smell 02 - Constants and Magic Numbers

Maxi Contieri ・ Oct 21 '20

#beginners #codenewbie #100daysofcode #codequality

Code Smell 20 - Premature Optimization

Maxi Contieri ・ Nov 8 '20

#oop #developing #coding #codesmell

Also Known as

Obfuscator

Conclusion

Too clever developers write cryptic code to brag. Smart developers write clean code.
Clear beats clever.

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

Software Engineering Great Quotes

Maxi Contieri ・ Dec 28 '20

#codenewbie #programming #quotes #software

This article is part of the CodeSmell Series.

How to Find the Stinky parts of your Code

Maxi Contieri ・ May 21 '21

#codenewbie #tutorial #codequality #beginners

Last update: 2021/06/08