Hall of API shame: Boolean trap (2011)(ariya.ofilabs.com)
ariya.ofilabs.com
Hall of API shame: Boolean trap (2011)
http://ariya.ofilabs.com/2011/08/hall-of-api-shame-boolean-trap.html
2 comments
Boolean parameter can be useful (for DRY-ness, etc.), but to prevent any misunderstandings, I almost always introduce descriptive constants in such cases:
When there is a default parameter value, sometimes even only one constant can be enough (for non-default variant description).
const bool SOMETHING = false;
const bool OTHERTHING = true;
When there is a default parameter value, sometimes even only one constant can be enough (for non-default variant description).
It usually results from writing code with a short-sighted focus on achieving some bespoke functionality in the least possible time. Somebody wants to disable a piece of behaviour in a function, they know where the code is, they wrap it in an if statement and throw another optional boolean parameter onto the pile.
It's symptomatic of functions, methods or subroutines that are too long. Functions should do one thing at one level of abstraction, and the very possibility of a boolean parameter means that your function is doing at least two things.