Too much parsing, exploding, regex, strcmp, strpos and string manipulation functions. Too much parsing, exploding, regex, strcmp, strpos and string manipulation functions. TL;DR: Use real abstractions and real objects instead of accidental string manipulation. TL;DR: Use real abstractions and real objects instead of accidental string manipulation. Problems 😔 Complexity
Readability
Maintainability
Lack of abstractions
Fragile logic
Hidden intent
Hard debugging
Poor modeling
Regex mess Complexity Readability Maintainability Lack of abstractions Fragile logic Hidden intent Hard debugging Poor modeling Regex mess Solutions 😃 Work with objects instead.
Replace strings with data structures dealing with object relations.
Go back to Perl :)
identify bijection problems between real objects and the strings. Work with objects instead. Replace strings with data structures dealing with object relations. Go back to Perl :) identify bijection problems between real objects and the strings. bijection Examples Serializers
Parsers Serializers Parsers Context 💬 When you abuse strings, you try to represent structured concepts with plain text. You parse, explode, and regex your way around instead of modeling the domain. This creates fragile code that breaks with small input changes. Sample Code 📖 Wrong 🚫 <?php

$schoolDescription = 'College of Springfield';

preg_match('/[^ ]*$/', $schoolDescription, $results);
$location = $results[0]; // $location = 'Springfield'.

$school = preg_split('/[\s,]+/', $schoolDescription, 3)[0]; 
//'College' <?php

$schoolDescription = 'College of Springfield';

preg_match('/[^ ]*$/', $schoolDescription, $results);
$location = $results[0]; // $location = 'Springfield'.

$school = preg_split('/[\s,]+/', $schoolDescription, 3)[0]; 
//'College' Right 👉 <?

class School {
    private $name;
    private $location;

    function description() {
        return $this->name . ' of ' . $this->location->name;
    }
} <?

class School {
    private $name;
    private $location;

    function description() {
        return $this->name . ' of ' . $this->location->name;
    }
} Detection 🔍 Semi-Automatic Semi-Automatic Automated detection is not easy. If your code uses too many string functions, linters can trigger a warning. Tags 🏷️ Primitive Obsession Primitive Obsession Level 🔋 Beginner Beginner Why the Bijection Is Important 🗺️ You must mirror the real-world domain in your code. real-world When you flatten roles, addresses, or money into raw strings, you lose control. This mismatch leads to errors, duplication, and weak models. One-to-one mapping between domain and code gives you clarity and robustness. AI Generation 🤖 AI generators often produce string-abusing code because it looks shorter and easier. The generated solution can be correct for toy cases but fragile in real systems. AI Detection 🧲 You can instruct AI tools to replace string checks with domain objects. With clear prompts, AI can spot and fix string abuse effectively. Try Them! 🛠 Remember: AI Assistants make lots of mistakes Remember: AI Assistants make lots of mistakes Suggested Prompt: Convert it to more declarative Suggested Prompt: Convert it to more declarative Without Proper Instructions

With Specific Instructions



ChatGPT

ChatGPT



Claude

Claude



Perplexity

Perplexity



Copilot

Copilot



You

You



Gemini

Gemini



DeepSeek

DeepSeek



Meta AI

Meta AI



Grok

Grok



Qwen

Qwen Without Proper Instructions

With Specific Instructions



ChatGPT

ChatGPT



Claude

Claude



Perplexity

Perplexity



Copilot

Copilot



You

You



Gemini

Gemini



DeepSeek

DeepSeek



Meta AI

Meta AI



Grok

Grok



Qwen

Qwen Without Proper Instructions

With Specific Instructions Without Proper Instructions Without Proper Instructions With Specific Instructions With Specific Instructions ChatGPT

ChatGPT ChatGPT ChatGPT ChatGPT ChatGPT ChatGPT ChatGPT Claude

Claude Claude Claude Claude Claude Claude Claude Perplexity

Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Copilot

Copilot Copilot Copilot Copilot Copilot Copilot Copilot You

You You You You You You You Gemini

Gemini Gemini Gemini Gemini Gemini Gemini Gemini DeepSeek

DeepSeek DeepSeek DeepSeek DeepSeek DeepSeek DeepSeek DeepSeek Meta AI

Meta AI Meta AI Meta AI Meta AI Meta AI Meta AI Meta AI Grok

Grok Grok Grok Grok Grok Grok Grok Qwen

Qwen Qwen Qwen Qwen Qwen Qwen Qwen Conclusion 🏁 Don't abuse strings. Favor real objects. Add missing protocol to distinguish them from raw strings. Relations 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xxv https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xxv https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xxv https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xxv https://maximilianocontieri.com/code-smell-295-string-concatenation?embedable=true https://maximilianocontieri.com/code-smell-295-string-concatenation?embedable=true More Information 📕 Credits 🙏 Photo by Nathaniel Shuman on Unsplash Nathaniel Shuman Unsplash This article is part of the CodeSmell Series. https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-i-xqz3evd?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-i-xqz3evd?embedable=true

The code in this story is for educational purposes. The readers are solely responsible for whatever they build with it.

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Refactoring 033 - Removing Redundant or Unused Annotations

Refactoring 032 - Apply Consistent Style Rules

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Code Smell 04 - Stop Abusing Strings—Use Real Objects Instead

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