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| title | date | permalink | tags | cta | snippet | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don't add boolean arguments | 2024-05-03 | daily/2024/05/03/dont-add-boolean-arguments |
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~ | 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:
public function getPosts() { ... }
If I wanted to only get published posts, one way would be to add a boolean argument:
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:
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 falses wherever the method is used.