Maxi ContieriDon't care how you do things. Care about what you do
TL;DR: Ditch the Loops: Write Cleaner Code with Declarative Style
Problems
- Verbose logic
- Repeated patterns
- Readability
- Maintainability
Solutions
- Remove loops
- Simplify logic
- Write declarative and high-level code
Context
When summing a collection, you might manually loop through the elements and add each one to a variable.
This approach works but adds unnecessary lines of code and makes it harder to follow.
Using language high-level functions, you can make your code shorter, clearer, and less error-prone.
It tells you exactly what the code is doing and not how it is doing it.
Sample Code
Wrong
transaction_values = [10.0, -5.21, 101.32, 1.11, -0.38]
balance = 0
for transaction_value in transaction_values:
balance += transaction_value
Right
transactions_values = [10.0, -5.21, 101.32, 1.11, -0.38]
balance = sum(transactions_values)
Detection
[X] Semi-Automatic
You can detect this smell when you see explicit loops accumulating a result, especially in simple operations like summing values.
Tags
- Declarative
Level
[X] Beginner
AI Generation
AI generators can sometimes produce this smell by writing verbose loops instead of using functions like sum().
If you don't specify the need for cleaner, declarative solutions, they might opt for more lines of code.
AI Detection
AI systems can easily detect and simplify this smell when you ask them to reduce code complexity with simple instructions to "optimize" or "simplify," most AI tools suggest using sum() in this case.
Try Them!
Remember AI Assistants make lots of mistakes
Without proper instructions
ChatGPT Claude Perplexity Gemini
With specific instructions
ChatGPT Claude Perplexity Gemini
Conclusion
Favoring declarative functions like sum() improves readability and reduces potential errors.
You reduce the need for manual loops and make it easier to maintain. It shows exactly what the code is doing with minimal syntax and clutter.
Relations
Disclaimer
Code Smells are my opinion.
Credits
Photo by Kati Hoehl on Unsplash
The most important property of a program is whether it accomplishes the intention of its user.
C.A.R. Hoare
This article is part of the CodeSmell Series.
