Writing code often involves handling different scenarios, which frequently leads to relying heavily on conditional statements like if-else and switch. While necessary in some contexts, an excessive number of these conditionals can make code challenging to read, understand, and maintain. As complexity grows, modifying or adding new behavior requires navigating tangled logic, increasing the risk of errors.
A more robust and flexible approach involves leveraging object-oriented principles. Instead of embedding logic within branching statements, we can encapsulate behavior within different objects. This shifts the responsibility from a central piece of code determining “what to do” based on conditions to objects knowing “how to do” something based on their type or state.
Key techniques include using polymorphism, where different objects respond to the same message or method call in their own specific way. This eliminates the need for explicit checks on an object’s type. Applying design patterns, such as the Strategy Pattern or State Pattern, provides structured ways to replace conditional logic with distinct object implementations. The Strategy pattern allows defining a family of algorithms, putting each one into a separate class, and making their objects interchangeable. The State pattern lets an object alter its behavior when its internal state changes, again replacing conditional checks on state with object-specific behavior.
Adopting these object-oriented strategies leads to code that is significantly more maintainable and extensible. Adding new behavior typically means creating a new class that implements a common interface, rather than modifying existing complex conditional blocks. This makes the codebase easier to test and less prone to regression issues. By favouring objects over numerous conditionals, developers build more adaptable and higher-quality software systems.
Source: https://itnext.io/you-dont-need-more-ifs-you-need-more-objects-11ed62b70259?source=rss—-5b301f10ddcd—4
