#Stringscan how to
#Stringscan update
#Stringscan code

Now, if you want to change it, you only must change it in one place. UserID = userID.Replace(standardUserType, '') Private const string standardUserType = 'STDR'

#Stringscan code

The following code shows what the first example looks like after refactoring the code by declaring the magic string as a constant.

If it is used in multiple classes, declare them in a separate common file (for example, a configuration file).

If the string can only contain one value, then declare them constants. The best way to avoid magic strings is to declare them in one place.

#Stringscan how to

How to eliminate magic strings in C#?įortunately, there are a few elegant solutions to avoid magic strings. Thus, code maintenance will be hard with magic strings. Changing them again is difficult if it’s used in many files or the code has similar strings. Modern IDEs may allow selecting all magic strings and replacing them at once. If they miss updating it in every line, it will cause bugs in the program.Īlso, there can be typos. Suppose your project requirements changed, and the ID can now contain “STDR-IX.” In that case, the programmer should change it in multiple places. It’s hard to change magic strings without introducing bugs Anyone new to the code must go through the entire implementation to understand why the code uses them. It means magic strings are seldom self-documenting. Magic strings do not explain their meaning or what other values they can contain. Magic strings are not always self-documenting This also leads to unnecessary code duplication. If you choose to use magic strings, you must define them everywhere you need them. In worst-case scenarios, magic strings can be duplicated across multiple files or classes. It means that the more functionalities you have around them, the more places you need to declare them in the code. Magic strings are often duplicatedĪs you saw from the above examples, magic strings are often duplicated. Let’s look at some reasons why magic strings are bad practice in your application code. } 3 reasons why you should stop using magic strings call the API to get the value and add it to the cache

The following method shows this scenario. Then programmers might declare it directly inside the code without defining it as a constant. For instance, let’s say you want to cache some data. The “STDR” in this example stands for the Standard type of user.Īnother common example of using magic strings is when declaring unique keys. Public static void DeleteUser(string userID)Ĭonsole.WriteLine('Cannot delete this user') MessageID = userID + new DateTime().ToString('yyyyMMddHHmmss') Public static string CreateMessageID(string userID) In this case, the magic string is “STDR”.Ĭan you guess what “STDR” stands for? public class Message There is no single point of declaration of this word.

The program declares the word “STDR” in three places to check if the user ID contains this prefix. The two functions need to ensure that the UserID should not contain the word “STDR”. It creates a unique message ID and deletes a user using a user ID. The following C# program does two things.

#Stringscan update

Mainly because they can change over time, causing bugs if you fail to update every code line you use. Using magic strings is not a good programming practice. I have a separate article on identifying and eliminating magic numbers in the code. They are numeric values like a timeout value, a length of an input variable, etc. Examples of magic strings include:Īlso, you can have magic numbers in the code. According to magic strings, a program’s behavior can change. It’s hard to change magic strings without introducing bugsĪ magic string is a string that declares directly in several places in a code without assigning it to a variable. 3 reasons why you should stop using magic strings.addAll ( ON, require ( 'Module:Road data/strings/CAN' )) ON. US = local util = require ( 'Module:Road data/util' ) util.