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---
title: Don't add boolean arguments
date: 2024-05-03
permalink: daily/2024/05/03/dont-add-boolean-arguments
tags:
2024-09-08 22:09:54 +00:00
- software-development
- drupal
- php
cta: ~
snippet: |
2024-09-08 22:09:54 +00:00
Don't add boolean arguments to your methods.
---
A convention I like from the Laravel framework is to avoid adding boolean arguments to methods.
For example, if I have this function:
```php
public function getPosts() { ... }
```
If I wanted to only get published posts, one way would be to add a boolean argument:
```php
public function getPosts(boolean $onlyPublished) { ... }
```
Then, I'd need to use that within the method body to add another condition (this is referred to as control coupling, where one method affects another).
The non-boolean approach would be to create a separate method with its own distinct name.
For example, `getPosts()` could be named `getAllPosts()` and there could be a separate `getPublishedPosts()` method for only getting published posts:
```php
public function getAllPosts() { ... }
public function getPublishedPosts() { ... }
```
Whilst we have two methods now instead of one, it's much clearer what each does and there aren't any random `true` or `false`s wherever the method is used.