Are flag variables an absolute evil?

Posted by dukeofgaming on Programmers See other posts from Programmers or by dukeofgaming
Published on 2012-10-31T18:29:50Z Indexed on 2012/10/31 23:16 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 269

Filed under:

code-quality

|

code-smell

|

maintainability

I remember doing a couple of projects where I totally neglected using flags and ended up with better architecture/code; however, it is a common practice in other projects I work at, and when code grows and flags are added, IMHO code-spaghetti also grows.

Would you say there are any cases where using flags is a good practice or even necessary?, or would you agree that using flags in code are... red flags and should be avoided/refactored; me, I just get by with doing functions/methods that check for states in real time instead.

Edit: Not talking about compiler flags

© Programmers or respective owner

Related posts about code-quality

Tips on a tool to measure code quality?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I'm looking for a tool that can provide code quality metrics. For instance it could report very long functions (spaghetti code) very complex classes (which could contain do-it-all code) ... While we're on the (subjective:-) subject of code quality, what other code metrics would you suggest? I'm… >>> More
Everyday Challenges to Improving Brownfield Code Quality

as seen on Code Project - Search for 'Code Project'
How best does one integrate code quality tools into an active project? >>> More
New Extension - Check ADF Code Quality

as seen on Oracle Technology Network - Search for 'Oracle Technology Network'
New free extension available from check for updates >>> More
Why is code quality not popular?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I like my code being in order, i.e. properly formatted, readable, designed, tested, checked for bugs, etc. In fact I am fanatic about it. (Maybe even more than fanatic...) But in my experience actions helping code quality are hardly implemented. (By code quality I mean the quality of the code you… >>> More
Counting Lines of code - quality metircs

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I'm taking the lines of code for my Java project , the project contains lot of XML files too. Now my question is when calculating lines of code. Do i need to consider XML lines of code as well? Please help >>> More

Related posts about code-smell

SSIS code smell – Unused columns in the dataflow

as seen on SQL Blog - Search for 'SQL Blog'
A code smell is defined on Wikipedia as being a “symptom in the source code of a program that possibly indicates a deeper problem”. It’s a term commonly used by our code-writing brethren to describe sub-optimal code but I think the term can be applied equally well to SSIS packages too as I shall now… >>> More
Casting functions -- Is it a code smell?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I recently began to start using functions to make casting easier on my fingers for one instance I had something like this ((Dictionary<string,string>)value).Add(foo); and converted it to a tiny little helper function so I can do this ToDictionary(value).Add(foo); Is this a code smell? (also… >>> More
Helper Casting Functions -- Is it a code smell?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I recently began to start using functions to make casting easier on my fingers for one instance I had something like this ((Dictionary<string,string>)value).Add(foo); and converted it to a tiny little helper function so I can do this ToDictionary(value).Add(foo); Is this a code smell? Also… >>> More
Is using MultiMaps code smell? If so what alternative data structures fit my needs?

as seen on Programmers - Search for 'Programmers'
I'm trying to model nWoD characters for a roleplaying game in a character builder program. The crux is I want to support saving too and loading from yaml documents. One aspect of the character's is their set of skills. Skills are split between exactly three 'types': Mental, Physical, and Social.… >>> More
Fluent interface design and code smell

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
public class StepClause { public NamedStepClause Action1() {} public NamedStepClause Action2() {} } public class NamedStepClause : StepClause { public StepClause Step(string name) {} } Basically, I want to be able to do something like this: var workflow = new Workflow().Configure() … >>> More