39 lines
1.2 KiB
Markdown
39 lines
1.2 KiB
Markdown
|
---
|
||
|
|
title: Don't add boolean arguments
|
||
|
|
date: 2024-05-03
|
||
|
|
permalink: archive/2024/05/03/dont-add-boolean-arguments
|
||
|
|
tags:
|
||
|
|
- software-development
|
||
|
|
- drupal
|
||
|
|
- php
|
||
|
|
cta: ~
|
||
|
|
snippet: |
|
||
|
|
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.
|