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/ Refactoring / Techniques / Composing Methods

Extract Variable

Problem

You have an expression that’s hard to understand.

Solution

Place the result of the expression or its parts in separate variables that are self-explanatory.

Before
void renderBanner() {
  if ((platform.toUpperCase().indexOf("MAC") > -1) &&
       (browser.toUpperCase().indexOf("IE") > -1) &&
        wasInitialized() && resize > 0 )
  {
    // do something
  }
}
After
void renderBanner() {
  final boolean isMacOs = platform.toUpperCase().indexOf("MAC") > -1;
  final boolean isIE = browser.toUpperCase().indexOf("IE") > -1;
  final boolean wasResized = resize > 0;

  if (isMacOs && isIE && wasInitialized() && wasResized) {
    // do something
  }
}
Before
void RenderBanner() 
{
  if ((platform.ToUpper().IndexOf("MAC") > -1) &&
       (browser.ToUpper().IndexOf("IE") > -1) &&
        wasInitialized() && resize > 0 )
  {
    // do something
  }
}
After
void RenderBanner() 
{
  readonly bool isMacOs = platform.ToUpper().IndexOf("MAC") > -1;
  readonly bool isIE = browser.ToUpper().IndexOf("IE") > -1;
  readonly bool wasResized = resize > 0;

  if (isMacOs && isIE && wasInitialized() && wasResized) 
  {
    // do something
  }
}
Before
if (($platform->toUpperCase()->indexOf("MAC") > -1) &&
     ($browser->toUpperCase()->indexOf("IE") > -1) &&
      $this->wasInitialized() && $this->resize > 0)
{
  // do something
}
After
$isMacOs = $platform->toUpperCase()->indexOf("MAC") > -1;
$isIE = $browser->toUpperCase()->indexOf("IE")  > -1;
$wasResized = $this->resize > 0;

if ($isMacOs && $isIE && $this->wasInitialized() && $wasResized) {
  // do something
}
Before
def renderBanner(self):
    if (self.platform.toUpperCase().indexOf("MAC") > -1) and \
       (self.browser.toUpperCase().indexOf("IE") > -1) and \
       self.wasInitialized() and (self.resize > 0):
        # do something
After
def renderBanner(self):
    isMacOs = self.platform.toUpperCase().indexOf("MAC") > -1
    isIE = self.browser.toUpperCase().indexOf("IE") > -1
    wasResized = self.resize > 0

    if isMacOs and isIE and self.wasInitialized() and wasResized:
        # do something
Before
renderBanner(): void {
  if ((platform.toUpperCase().indexOf("MAC") > -1) &&
       (browser.toUpperCase().indexOf("IE") > -1) &&
        wasInitialized() && resize > 0 )
  {
    // do something
  }
}
After
renderBanner(): void {
  const isMacOs = platform.toUpperCase().indexOf("MAC") > -1;
  const isIE = browser.toUpperCase().indexOf("IE") > -1;
  const wasResized = resize > 0;

  if (isMacOs && isIE && wasInitialized() && wasResized) {
    // do something
  }
}

Why Refactor

The main reason for extracting variables is to make a complex expression more understandable, by dividing it into its intermediate parts. These could be:

  • Condition of the if() operator or a part of the ?: operator in C-based languages

  • A long arithmetic expression without intermediate results

  • Long multipart lines

Extracting a variable may be the first step towards performing Extract Method if you see that the extracted expression is used in other places in your code.

Benefits

  • More readable code! Try to give the extracted variables good names that announce the variable’s purpose loud and clear. More readability, fewer long-winded comments. Go for names like customerTaxValue, cityUnemploymentRate, clientSalutationString, etc.

Drawbacks

  • More variables are present in your code. But this is counterbalanced by the ease of reading your code.

  • When refactoring conditional expressions, remember that the compiler will most likely optimize it to minimize the amount of calculations needed to establish the resulting value. Say you have a following expression if (a() || b()) .... The program won’t call the method b if the method a returns true because the resulting value will still be true, no matter what value returns b.

    However, if you extract parts of this expression into variables, both methods will always be called, which might hurt performance of the program, especially if these methods do some heavyweight work.

How to Refactor

  1. Insert a new line before the relevant expression and declare a new variable there. Assign part of the complex expression to this variable.

  2. Replace that part of the expression with the new variable.

  3. Repeat the process for all complex parts of the expression.