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Rules, by Sandi Metz

5 Rules for writing object-oriented code My notes from a Ruby talk from 2013 by Sandi Metz. What are rules? taboos laws norms (customs), …

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5 Rules for writing object-oriented code

My notes from a Ruby talk from 2013 by Sandi Metz.

What are rules?

  • taboos
  • laws
  • norms (customs), group-held beliefs
  • many of are arbitrary and not enforcible
  • why do we follow rules? obedience? self-interest, identity/status, authority, order, social sanctions, ignorance, habit

5 Constraints

  1. No more than 100 lines per class
  2. No more than 5 lines per method
  3. No more than 4 parameters per method
  4. No more than 1 instance variable per view
  5. No more than 2 class names per controller/action (a Rails-specific rule)

Why?

  • bias towards small objects (POROs = plain old Ruby objects)
  • bias away from dependencies
  • the rules are a means to an end: consistent goals
  • design choice of small objects
  • objects vs. procedures
  • the entire applications is harder to understand, but you don’t need to understand the whole app — you only need to understand the part you want to change
  • following the rules might be in your self-interest

Other benefits of rules

  • signal others
  • bias to collaboration
  • the belief in some rules and the willingness and self-discipline to follow them
  • you can break the rules only under the supervision of trustworthy humans