Photo by Eden Constantino on Unsplash
Code Smell 148 - ToDos
We buy debt for our future selves. It is payback time
TL;DR: Don't leave TODOs in your code. Fix them!
Problems
Technical Debt
Readability
Lack of Confidence
Solutions
- Fix your TODOs
Context
We encounter TODOs in our code. We count them.
We seldom address it
We started owing the technical debt.
Then we pay the debt + the interest.
A few months after, we pay more interest than the original debt.
Sample Code
Wrong
public class Door
{
private Boolean isOpened;
public Door(boolean isOpened)
{
this.isOpened = isOpened;
}
public void openDoor()
{
this.isOpened = true;
}
public void closeDoor()
{
// TODO: Implement close door and cover it
}
}
Right
public class Door
{
private Boolean isOpened;
public Door(boolean isOpened)
{
this.isOpened = isOpened;
}
public void openDoor()
{
this.isOpened = true;
}
public void closeDoor()
{
this.isOpened = false;
}
}
Detection
[X] Automatic
We can count TODOs.
Tags
- Technical Debt
Conclusion
We can count TODOs.
Most linters do it.
We need the policy to reduce them.
If we are using TDD, we write the missing code right away.
In this context, TODOs are only valid when doing Depth First development to remember open paths to visit.
More Info
Credits
Photo by Eden Constantino on Unsplash
After you finish the first 90% of a project, you have to finish the other 90%.
Michael Abrash
This article is part of the CodeSmell Series.