Code Smell 238 - Dealing With Entangled Code

You execute code. Move to the other stuff, and continue with the previous code

TL;DR: Don't mix your train of thought

Problems

• Readability
• Bad Scoping

Solutions

1. Move the code close together
2. Try to extract the method

Refactorings

Refactoring 002 - Extract Method

Context

Entangled code is related beyond time and space.

You are reading the code, then skip to another subject and return to the first one.

Sample Code

Wrong

def planetary_properties(semi_major_axis,
                         incoming_radiation, reflected_radiation):
    Gravitational_Constant = 1.0    
    Sun_Mass = 1.0    
    # Up to here, there's a preparation
    # for the orbital period computation
    
    albedo = reflected_radiation / incoming_radiation
    # This is unrelated to the previous computation
    
    # You resume the first computation
    orbital_period_squared = (
        (4 * math.pi**2 * semi_major_axis**3) /
        (Gravitational_Constant * Sun_Mass)
    )
    retrun orbital_period, albedo

Right

def planetary_properties(semi_major_axis,
                         incoming_radiation, reflected_radiation):
    Gravitational_Constant = 1.0    
    Sun_Mass = 1.0    
     orbital_period_squared = (
        (4 * math.pi**2 * semi_major_axis**3) /
        (Gravitational_Constant * Sun_Mass)
    )
    # This is related to the first computation part
    
    albedo = reflected_radiation / incoming_radiation
    # This is related to the second part
    
    # The final solution is to break the function into two
    # This is a trivial example for illustration purposes
    # Things usually get more complicated and entangled
   
    retrun orbital_period, albedo

Detection

• [x]Semi-Automatic

Some linters can infer scopes and make suggestions.

Tags

• Readability

Level

• [x]Beginner

AI Assistants

AI assistants suggest code without this mistake and improve this problem when asked.

Conclusion

This is a tiny tip and a short example of tidying

Relations

Code Smell 107 - Variables Reuse

Disclaimer

Code Smells are my opinion.

Credits

Photo by Michael Hamments on Unsplash

Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it.

Brian Kernighan

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