Code smell
A code smell is a recognizable symptom in source code suggesting a potential design, implementation, or maintainability problem without necessarily indicating a defect.
Grokking Simplicity
A code smell is a characteristic of source code that may indicate deeper design or maintenance problems.
- How it is used
- Uses smells as practical signals for finding duplication, misplaced abstractions, and opportunities to refactor code.
- How deep it goes
- Defines smells, identifies their characteristics, and gives step-by-step refactorings, but does not provide a complete taxonomy.
- Examples
- Uses shipping calculations, repeated cart setters, and a mixed DOM-and-cart update function as diagnostic examples.
- What you can do after
- Diagnose potential design problems and apply refactorings that expose arguments, reduce duplication, and separate responsibilities.
"Looks Good to Me"
A code smell is a recognizable symptom in source code that suggests a possible design, maintainability, or implementation problem.
- How it is used
- Uses code smells as maintainability signals during pull-request review and automated quality checks.
- How deep it goes
- Defines symptoms and review handling, then extends to automated detection and refactoring without cataloging specific smell patterns.
- Examples
- Uses pull-request approval decisions, AI review findings, refactoring suggestions, and recurring-review feedback as examples.
- What you can do after
- Diagnose code-quality signals, calibrate blocking decisions, and use automated feedback to refactor recurring problems earlier.
Related concepts
- implicit argumentincludes · An implicit argument is a function input supplied through invocation context, naming convention, or language mechanisms rather than explicitly at the call site.
- code duplicationincludes · Code duplication is the presence of equivalent or substantially similar source code or implementation logic in multiple locations within a software system.
- shotgun surgeryincludes · Shotgun surgery is a code smell in which one logical change requires many separate modifications across a software system.
- refactoringaddressed by · Refactoring is the restructuring of existing software or code to change its internal organization and improve its design, typically while preserving externally observable behavior.
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