Code Smell 54 — Anchor Boats

Code is there. Just in case. We might need it soon.

Photo by Kris Mikael Krister on Unsplash

Problems

• Complexity
• Coupling

Solutions

1. Remove dead code.
2. Leave covered and real tested code.

Sample Code

Wrong

Right

Detection

Using some mutation testing variants we can remove the dead code and see it test fails.

We need to have good coverage to rely on this solution.

Tags

• YAGNI

Conclusion

Dead code is always a problem.

We can use modern development techniques like TDD to ensure all code is alive.

How to Squeeze Test Driven Development on Legacy Systems

Relations

Code Smell 09 — Dead Code

More info

Boat Anchor - The Daily Software Anti-Pattern

You aren't gonna need it

It is very hard to predict, especially the future.

Niels Bohr

Software Engineering Great Quotes

This article is part of the CodeSmell Series.

How to Find the Stinky parts of your Code