Yie old Reliable Data Structures and Their Controversial (Write) Access. Using objects as data structures is an established practice that generates many problems associated with the maintainability and evolution of software and misuses brilliant concepts that were stated five decades ago. In this first part we will reflect on the writing access of these objects. In his classic 1972 paper , David Parnas defined a novel and foundational concept for modern software engineering: Information Hiding. The rule is straightforward: If we hide our implementation we can change it as many times as necessary. Prior to Parnas’ paper, there were no clear rules on information accessing and it was not a questionable practice to dive into data structures, penalizing any change with dreaded ripple effect. Let’s see how to model a Cartesian point: x; y;
} { struct Point float float Any software component that manipulates these points will be coupled to saving values ​​as Cartesian x and y coordinates ( Accidental implementation ). Since it's just a data structure without operations, the attribute's semantics will be different according to every programmer’s criterion. Coupling: The One and Only Software Designing Problem Hence, if we want to change the accidental implementation of the point to its polar coordinates analogous: angle; distance;
} { struct Point float float Same point can be represented in two different ways The polar representation (√2, π/8) is equivalent to the Cartesian (1, 1) Since it is the same point in real world, it must necessarily be represented by the same object in our bijection. The One and Only Software Design Principle Bijection always depends on the subjectivity of the aspects we are trying to model. In order to draw a polygon, the Cartesian (1, 1) and polar (√2, π / 8) points are the same point. The case of trying to represent several possible mathematical representations would be different if we were programming Wolfram semantics. In such case representation is part of the problem se they would be modeled by different objects. The solution is simple. Hide the internal representation. As Parnas predicted, many of the code maintainability issues were fixed by encapsulating the decisions within the modules that define them. This is what the magnificent paper is all about. The next evolutionary step Upon object oriented programming arrival, the concepts of encapsulation and information hiding were taken to an atomic extreme. We are no longer talking about encapsulating within a module but within the same object . Returning to the previous example, we move from: { $x; $y;
} final class Point private private towards representation change: { $angle; $distance;
} final class Point private private A good design is one in which objects are coupled to responsibilities ( interfaces ) and not representations. Therefore, if we define a good point interface , they can arbitrarily change their representation (even on runtime) without propagating any ripple effect. { $x; $y; { ->x;
    } { ->y;
    }
} final class Point private private public function x () return $this public function y () return $this when representation changes … { $angle; $distance; { ->distance * cos( ->angle);
    } { ->distance * sin( ->angle);
    }
} final class Point private private public function x () return $this $this public function y () return $this $this … everything continues to work correctly. Algorithms and Data If we were working with the old rule: programs = algorithms + data structures … then we could build excellent software with setters and getters. This article assumes that we are eager to build, with declarative objects, models in where implementation hides behind the objects responsibilities. These responsibilities will be the same on the bijection between these objects and the real world. What is (wrong with) software? Involution Despite the benefits listed in the examples above, the current state of the art shows us many problems related to coupling and ripple effect. Most are generated by the ingrained habit of using setters and getters (or simply: accessors). Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash t’s look at setters and getters as separate problems. Le Setters Changing the internal state of an object violates the principle of immutability. This is discouraged since, in the real world, objects do not mutate in their . essence Is it Crystal Clear for Everybody That a Date Should Not Mutate? The only method allowed to write to attributes is the atomic initialization. From then on, the variables should be read-only. If we stay true to bijection, we will notice that there are never messages with the form ..() in the real world. These are implementation tricks programmers use, and they break good models. setAttribute We will never be able to explain to a business expert what responsibility these methods have from the name. Let’s imagine a polygon as a data structure. { $vertices;
} final class Polygon public Let’s assume that the polygon has at least three vertices. Being a data structure, we cannot impose such restriction. Using our amazing IDE with automatic code generation, we add the and to it. setters getters { $vertices; { ->vertices;
    } { ->vertices = $newVertices;
    }
} final class Polygon private public : function getVertices () Collection return $this public function setVertices (Collection $newVertices) $this Let's try adding the constraint on the number of vertices in the constructor: { $vertices; { (count($newVertices < )) { ( );
        } ->vertices = $newVertices;
    }
} final class Polygon private private function __construct (Collection $newVertices) if 3 throw new Exception 'Cannot create a polygon with less than 3 vertices' $this From now on, it will be impossible to create a polygon with less than three sides, thus fulfilling the bijection with the real world of Euclidean geometry. Unless we use our setter ... Nothing prevents us from running this code: $triangle = Polygon([( Point( , ), Point( , ), Point( , ))]);
$triangle->setVertices([( Point( , )]); new new 1 1 new 2 2 new 3 3 new 1 1 At this point we have two options: Duplicate the business logic in the constructor and in the setter.Eliminate the setter permanently, favoring immutability In case of accepting the repeated code, the ripple effect begins to spread when our restrictions grow. For example, if we make the precondition even stronger: Let’s assume that the polygon has at least three different vertices. The correct answer, according to our design axioms, is the second. Repeated or absent logic of invariant verification Many objects have invariants that guarantee their cohesion and the validity of the representation to maintain real world bijection. Allowing partial setting (an attribute) would force us to control representation invariants in , generating , which is always error-prone when modifying a reference and ignoring other references. more than one place repeating code Code generated without control Many development environments give us the possibility to automate the generation of setters and getters. This leads to new programmers generations thinking it is a good design practice, generating vices that are difficult to correct. Laziness Chapter II: Code Wizards This facility spreads the problem, having this tool gives the feeling that it is an accepted practice. Recommendations Do not use . There are no good reasons for doing so. setters Having methods named is a code smell. setSomething… () Have no public attributes. For practical purposes it is like having and . setters getters Have no public static attributes. In addition to what is mentioned above, the classes should be stateless and this is a showing a class that is used as a global variable. code smell Avoid (those containing just attributes without responsibilities). This is a hinting some missing object on the bijection. anemic objects code smell Conclusions Using setters generates coupling and prevents the incremental evolution of our computer systems. For the arguments stated in this article, we should restrict its use as much as possible. The Getters As with setters, getters are discouraged. We develop this topic in depth in this article: Nude Models - Part II : Getters Part of the objective of this series of articles is to generate spaces for debate and discussion on software design. We look forward to comments and suggestions on this article.

Polygon

Polar

How to Decouple a Legacy System

Singleton Pattern: The Root of All Evil

Buy My Book

Share your ideas with me!

Read My Stories

Buy Me a Coffee

Book Author

Too Long; Didn't Read

Nude Models - Part I : Setters 

Nude Models - Part I : Setters

About Author

Comments

TOPICS

THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN

Related Stories

10 Predictions About the Future of Finance

43 Stories To Learn About Object Oriented

Can You Really Code Without IF Statements?

How to Decouple a Legacy System

How to Find the Stinky Parts of Your Code (Part III)

How to Find the Stinky Parts of Your Code [Part XVII]

10 Predictions About the Future of Finance

43 Stories To Learn About Object Oriented

Can You Really Code Without IF Statements?

How to Decouple a Legacy System

How to Find the Stinky Parts of Your Code (Part III)

How to Find the Stinky Parts of Your Code [Part XVII]

Light-Mode

Classic

Newspaper

Minty

Dark-Mode

Neon Noir

Minty

HN StartUps