
Photo by Austin Neill on Unsplash
Code Smell 191 - Misplaced Responsibility
You have a clear responsibility for the wrong object
TL;DR: Don't be afraid to create or overload the proper objects.
Problems
- Bijection Fault.
Solutions
Find actual behavior on the real objects using the MAPPER.
Answer the question: 'Whose responsibility is..?'
Context
Finding responsible objects is a tough task.
If we talk to anybody outside the software world, they will tell us where we should place every responsibility.
Software engineers, on the contrary, tend to put behavior in strange places like helpers.
Sample Code
Wrong
function add(a, b) {
return a + b;
}
// this is natural in many programming languages,
// but unnatural in real life
class GraphicEditor {
constructor() {
this.PI = 3.14;
// We shouldn't define it here
}
pi() {
return this.PI;
}
drawCircle(radius) {
console.log(`Drawing a circle with radius ${radius}
and circumference ${2 * this.pi() * radius}.`);
}
}
Right
class Integer {
function add(adder) {
return this + adder;
}
}
// This won't compile in many programming languages
// But it is the right place for adding responsibility
class GraphicEditor {
drawCircle(radius) {
console.log(`Drawing a circle with radius ${radius} and
circumference ${2 * Number.pi() * radius}.`);
}
}
// PI's definition is Number's responsibility
Detection
[X] Manual
This is a semantic smell.
Exceptions
- Some languages force you to add protocol in some objects and not on everyone (like primitive integers, Strings, Arrays, etc.)
Tags
- Behavior
Conclusion
If you put the responsibilities in the proper object, you will surely find them in the same place.
Relations
More Info
Disclaimer
Code Smells are just my opinion.
Credits
Photo by Austin Neill on Unsplash
Object thinking focuses our attention on the problem space rather than the solution space. Object thinkers take the advice of Plato, Parnas, Fred Brooks, Christopher Alexander, and many others by letting the problem define its own solution
David West
This article is part of the CodeSmell Series.