You love Null Object Design Patter because it avoids the billion-dollar mistake. TL;DR: Prefer real domain names to Implementation names Problems Bijection Fault
Naming Solutions Search for a real-world metaphor Context Naming is essential when designing software. Using Pattern Names is a common software problem where programmers bind design patterns to real-world concepts. You need to search for these abstractions in the real world and name them after their essential behavior instead of the accidental structure. Null Customers don't exist in the same way NULL doesn't exist. Sample Code Wrong import React from 'react';

const NullCustomer = () => {
  return (
    <div>
      <h2>No customer found</h2>
      <p>Sorry, we couldn't find any customer matching your criteria.</p>
    </div>
  );
};

const App = () => { 
  const customerDataAvailable = false;

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Customer Details</h1>
      {customerDataAvailable ? (
        <div>
          {/* Render customer data */}
          <h2>Customer Name: Cosmo Kramer</h2>
          <p>Email: cosmo.kramer@example.com</p>
          <p>Phone: 123-456-7890</p>
        </div>
      ) : (
        <NullCustomer />
      )}
    </div>
  );
};

export default App; Right import React from 'react';

// This is more closely related to real world
const InexistantCustomer = () => {
  return (
    <div>
      <h2>Inexistant customer</h2>
      <p>Sorry, we couldn't find any customer matching your criteria.</p>
    </div>
  );
};

const App = () => { 
  const customerDataAvailable = false;

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Customer Details</h1>
      {customerDataAvailable ? (
        <div>
          {/* Customer exists */}
          <h2>Customer Name: Newman</h2>
          <p>Email: newman@example.com</p>
          <p>Phone: 666-666-6666</p>
        </div>
      ) : (
        <InexistantCustomer />
      )}
    </div>
  );
};

export default App; Detection [x]Semi-Automatic You can search for names including implementation patterns and check if they represent a real-world concept. Tags Naming Level [x]Beginner AI Generation AI generators are better at finding these names and don't abuse design patterns unless we prompt them. AI Detection When prompted to use better names with the wrong code tested AI suggested a few, but none detected by itself as a mistake. Conclusion Some concepts are harder to find than others. Choose your names wisely. Relations Code Smell 25 - Pattern Abusers More Info Null: The Billion Dollar Mistake Disclaimer Code Smells are my opinion. Credits Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash We comfort ourselves with the belief that if the customers had just been happy with what they said they needed, the design would have been fine. It’s the customer’s fault for changing the requirements on us. Robert Martin Software Engineering Great Quotes This article is part of the CodeSmell Series. How to Find the Stinky Parts of your Code You love Null Object Design Patter because it avoids the billion-dollar mistake. You love Null Object Design Patter because it avoids the billion-dollar mistake. TL;DR: Prefer real domain names to Implementation names TL;DR: Prefer real domain names to Implementation names Problems Bijection Fault Naming Bijection Fault Bijection Naming Solutions Search for a real-world metaphor Search for a real-world metaphor Context Naming is essential when designing software. Using Pattern Names is a common software problem where programmers bind design patterns to real-world concepts. software problem You need to search for these abstractions in the real world and name them after their essential behavior instead of the accidental structure. Null Customers don't exist in the same way NULL doesn't exist. NULL Sample Code Wrong import React from 'react';

const NullCustomer = () => {
  return (
    <div>
      <h2>No customer found</h2>
      <p>Sorry, we couldn't find any customer matching your criteria.</p>
    </div>
  );
};

const App = () => { 
  const customerDataAvailable = false;

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Customer Details</h1>
      {customerDataAvailable ? (
        <div>
          {/* Render customer data */}
          <h2>Customer Name: Cosmo Kramer</h2>
          <p>Email: cosmo.kramer@example.com</p>
          <p>Phone: 123-456-7890</p>
        </div>
      ) : (
        <NullCustomer />
      )}
    </div>
  );
};

export default App; import React from 'react';

const NullCustomer = () => {
  return (
    <div>
      <h2>No customer found</h2>
      <p>Sorry, we couldn't find any customer matching your criteria.</p>
    </div>
  );
};

const App = () => { 
  const customerDataAvailable = false;

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Customer Details</h1>
      {customerDataAvailable ? (
        <div>
          {/* Render customer data */}
          <h2>Customer Name: Cosmo Kramer</h2>
          <p>Email: cosmo.kramer@example.com</p>
          <p>Phone: 123-456-7890</p>
        </div>
      ) : (
        <NullCustomer />
      )}
    </div>
  );
};

export default App; Right import React from 'react';

// This is more closely related to real world
const InexistantCustomer = () => {
  return (
    <div>
      <h2>Inexistant customer</h2>
      <p>Sorry, we couldn't find any customer matching your criteria.</p>
    </div>
  );
};

const App = () => { 
  const customerDataAvailable = false;

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Customer Details</h1>
      {customerDataAvailable ? (
        <div>
          {/* Customer exists */}
          <h2>Customer Name: Newman</h2>
          <p>Email: newman@example.com</p>
          <p>Phone: 666-666-6666</p>
        </div>
      ) : (
        <InexistantCustomer />
      )}
    </div>
  );
};

export default App; import React from 'react';

// This is more closely related to real world
const InexistantCustomer = () => {
  return (
    <div>
      <h2>Inexistant customer</h2>
      <p>Sorry, we couldn't find any customer matching your criteria.</p>
    </div>
  );
};

const App = () => { 
  const customerDataAvailable = false;

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Customer Details</h1>
      {customerDataAvailable ? (
        <div>
          {/* Customer exists */}
          <h2>Customer Name: Newman</h2>
          <p>Email: newman@example.com</p>
          <p>Phone: 666-666-6666</p>
        </div>
      ) : (
        <InexistantCustomer />
      )}
    </div>
  );
};

export default App; Detection [x]Semi-Automatic [x] Semi-Automatic [x] You can search for names including implementation patterns and check if they represent a real-world concept. Tags Naming Naming Level [x]Beginner [x] Beginner [x] AI Generation AI generators are better at finding these names and don't abuse design patterns unless we prompt them. AI Detection When prompted to use better names with the wrong code tested AI suggested a few, but none detected by itself as a mistake. Conclusion Some concepts are harder to find than others. Choose your names wisely. Relations Code Smell 25 - Pattern Abusers Code Smell 25 - Pattern Abusers More Info Null: The Billion Dollar Mistake Null: The Billion Dollar Mistake Disclaimer Code Smells are my opinion . opinion Credits Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash engin akyurt Unsplash We comfort ourselves with the belief that if the customers had just been happy with what they said they needed, the design would have been fine. It’s the customer’s fault for changing the requirements on us. We comfort ourselves with the belief that if the customers had just been happy with what they said they needed, the design would have been fine. It’s the customer’s fault for changing the requirements on us. Robert Martin Robert Martin Software Engineering Great Quotes Software Engineering Great Quotes This article is part of the CodeSmell Series. How to Find the Stinky Parts of your Code How to Find the Stinky Parts of your Code

Code Smell 253 - Silently Truncating Your User Data Without Warning

How to Find the Stinky Parts of Your Code: 251 - Empty Collections 

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