5 Most Common Anti-Patterns in Programming and How to Avoid Them

An anti-pattern in programming is a typical response to recurring ineffective problems. These patterns often arise due to a need for more experience or knowledge. This article will discuss five popular anti-patterns in programming and provide practical ways to avoid them.

This problem occurs when the code structure is hard to understand because they have a complex and incomprehensible flow control structure. For example, arguments slow function calls down substantially, especially when using keyword arguments. It is highly advisable to focus on reducing these arguments instead

Example:

Hard coding is the lousy practice where the developer stores input data in the source code rather than obtaining it from a file or another source.The main problem with this pattern is that it only works if the conditions change and the developer needs to modify the initial code.

In the following example, we read the file “welcome.txt” using the specific location. The path to the file is hardcoded, which means that whenever other developers work with our code, they have to rewrite the path each time.

Example:

Magic strings or numbers are strings or numbers in the code that seem arbitrary and have no context or meaning. This anti-pattern is similar to the previous one, but in this case, strings of text or numbers appear scattered throughout the code.

The code with this anti-pattern is complicated to maintain because other developers don't know what they refer to. Sometimes even the code's author can forget the meaning of magic strings and numbers.

In the function below, we have a couple of magic numbers. It's not apparent what the 9.98 charge is. The 0.10 may be a sales tax, late fee, or extra revenue.

Example:

God Object (or God Class) is a data structure that does too many. In other words, this object or class describes an excessive concentration of all sorts of functionality.

As you can see in the below example, the class Ticket has too many responsibilities: buying tickets and extracting and storing data. It's challenging to work with God's classes and objects and test them.

Example:

This anti-pattern means keeping parts of the system that are no longer used after performing some optimization or refactoring. Generally, this is because developers believe (or prior experience) that they’ll need it later.

In the following example, the function mul() is useless after the developer's refactoring. mul() inefficiently consumes the memory and slows the program execution.

Example:

Developers who understand and avoid anti-patterns can create higher-quality solutions and more maintainable software systems. Continuous learning and updating your skills are crucial to becoming a proficient programmer. Embrace best practices, stay informed about industry trends, and be open to feedback and code reviews. There's always room for improvement and happy coding!

If you're eager to take your programming skills to the next level and further enhance your understanding of clean code principles, I invite you to check out our comprehensive courses.

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