Which is better, declarative or shorter code?

TL;DR: Be declarative enough but no more.

Problems

Readability
Premature Optimization

Solutions

Use a short version (or not).
Always favor readability >> Premature optimization.
Humans learn by examples, not by formulas.
Shorter is not always better.

Context

Last week, a tweet went viral because of a missing formula.

It is the DigiD digital authentication iOS app in the Netherlands.

Sample Code

Wrong?

private static string GetPercentageRounds(double percentage)
        {
            if (percentage == 0)
                return "⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪";
            if (percentage > 0.0 && percentage <= 0.1)
                return "🔵⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪";
            if (percentage > 0.1 && percentage <= 0.2)
                return "🔵🔵⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪";
            if (percentage > 0.2 && percentage <= 0.3)
                return "🔵🔵🔵⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪";
            if (percentage > 0.3 && percentage <= 0.4)
                return "🔵🔵🔵🔵⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪";
            if (percentage > 0.4 && percentage <= 0.5)
                return "🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪";
            if (percentage > 0.5 && percentage <= 0.6)
                return "🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵⚪⚪⚪⚪";
            if (percentage > 0.6 && percentage <= 0.7)
                return "🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵⚪⚪⚪";
            if (percentage > 0.7 && percentage <= 0.8)
                return "🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵⚪⚪";
            if (percentage > 0.8 && percentage <= 0.9)
                return "🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵⚪";

            return "🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵";
        }
    }
}

// Full source
// https://github.com/MinBZK/woo-besluit-broncode-digid-app/blob/master/Source/DigiD.iOS/Services/NFCService.cs

Right?

private static string GetPercentageRounds(double percentage)
{
    string dots = "🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪";
    int blueDots = (int) Math.Truncate (percentage* 10);
    int startingPoint = 10-blueDots;
    return dots. Substring(startingPoint, 10);
}

Detection

[X] Semi-Automatic

This is a semantic smell. In this case, we can count the number of if clauses.

Conclusion

You can read the original Twitter thread to take your own conclusions. There's some serious debate and, of course, several premature optimizators bringing obscure and unneeded solutions with (O) log(n) complexity and stupid benchmarks evidence for a loop that executes only once.

And lots of memes.

As a final conclusion, I asked ChatGPT and was not able to simplify it.

Relations

Code Smell 36 - Switch/case/elseif/else/if statements

Maxi Contieri ・ Nov 28 '20

#oop #webdev #tutorial #codenewbie

Code Smell 20 - Premature Optimization

Maxi Contieri ・ Nov 8 '20

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More Info

GitHub Repo

How to Get Rid of Annoying IFs Forever

Maxi Contieri ・ Nov 9 '20

#oop #programming #codenewbie #tutorial

Disclaimer

Code Smells are just my opinion.

There are two ways of constructing a software design. One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies. And the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies.

C. A. R. Hoare

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

Code Smell 193 - Switch Instead of Formula