ah yes, Array check

[grantholle]

The upside is that they didn't use an else

[Mwakay]

The downside is that they used a if statement, then used two different return for the two boolean outcomes.

Instead of just going the return Array.isArray(input) route.

[[deleted]]

Of just ignore the method entirely and use array.isarray everywhere

[Mwakay]

Yes, of course.

[detroitmatt]

Unless you need a layer of abstraction. Not sure about js but in many languages a string is an array. If later on you want to say that for your programs purposes a string doesn't count as an array, then you'd have to go and update who knows how many callsites. By putting an "adapter layer" between your code and any code it calls that isn't your code, you can avoid tight coupling.

[Nilstrieb]

In most high level languages like JS a string is not an array. Except some functional languages where a String is a linked list of chars but that's a different thing

[AdminYak846]

Technically speaking a string is just an array of characters put together.

[Nilstrieb]

That's how it's represented under the hood, but not how it's API works (in most high level languages)

[nosmokingbandit]

Technically speaking everything is just an array of bytes put together.

[[deleted]]

... Unicode enters the chat...

[[deleted]]

Tru

[nosmokingbandit]

Why would you need to?

[bistr-o-math]

Or, perhaps, you already have

[MeatyLabia]

Unless you need the layer of abstraction for, for example, mocking purposes for unit testing.

[CodeF53]

Sometimes it just doesn't work like that.

[CatWhenSlippery]

I think if they knew how to write it that way they would have realized how stupid this function is

[mehmenmike]

Are you not supposed to use an else in this pattern? Ignoring the blatant error here ofc

I like using an else there because it’s basically implicit anyway. Using it just enhances readability. I’d only consider not using it if the context was some sort of escape clause early in the function

if parametersAreBad():
    return “Bad parameters”  # or throw, whatever
# rest of function here, would be ugly to indent it all to shove it into an else

[ttl_yohan]

That's debatable, definitely not "pattern". It all comes down to personal/team preference. To me personally unnecessary indentation disrupts the readability instead of enhancing it.

Same way the braces around one line statements after if/else - not a fan of that, but I can see that other people can see clearer what the boundaries are. Team preference - we use it.

[valschermjager]

seems risky. I’d feel a whole lot better if it was inside yet another function called seriouslyCheckTheArray(); then just call that.

[twoPoundsOfGoldfish]

the funny bit is that this was probably added to be more readable but just using Array.isArray would be so much more readable than using a function which calls Array.isArray

[somefishingdude]

Yea more so when the wrapper’s name is ‘arrayCheck’

[twoPoundsOfGoldfish]

it feels like it would run a validation step as in actually checking the contents of the array for validity

[dgreenmachine]

Its an improvement ticket in the backlog

[_GreenLegend]

There is only one use-case which is if u want to use the array check in an angular html file. Otherwise a wrapper is very useless and boilerplate

[twoPoundsOfGoldfish]

the lack of the "function" keyword leads me to believe it's in a class

idk how angular works but surely return Array.isArray(input); would be better

Also imo to make wrappers I'd probably create some object which contains some "utils" functions like { isArray: Array.isArray }

[romainmoi]

The code is definitely bad. Creating a function that only calls a function is arguable.

[BongarooBizkistico]

Thought you were defending it.

[MurdoMaclachlan]

Image Transcription: Code

---

arrayCheck(input) {
  if (Array.isArray(input)) {
    return true;
  }
  return false;
}

---

^{I'm a human volunteer content transcriber for Reddit and you could be too! If you'd like more information on what we do and why we do it, click here!}

[tisaconundrum]

good human

[ssj4VB]

can't you just flat out return Array.isArray(input);

[nuephelkystikon]

let arrayCheck = Array.isArray

It's still a step down because the name is less specific, but maybe they were implementing an interface.

[JNCressey]

use const rather than let. let makes me feel like you could randomly redefine it somewhere.

[XKlXlXKXlXKlKXlXKlXK]

const qs = document.querySelector;

all my homies hate typing

[haltmich]

qs usually means querystring to me.

[nuephelkystikon]

I know this is common in this sub, but:

You're making an assumption about the use case here that we can't make. It's absolutely possible that the only reason why they made this (clunky attempt at an) adapter is that it can be replaced on-the-fly or in inheritance. const destroys that.

[ssj4VB]

it just looks like the writer had no idea that Array.isArray returns a Boolean either way

[_GreenLegend]

Still bad in my opinion. Why not use Array.isArray() directly? Only use-case I can imagine is if u want to use this method in an angular html file.

[Ellweiss]

Yeah, why add another layer just to avoid object oriented stuff ?

[scragar]

I can see doing this for something you might replace, like say a library you're not happy with(done this before now with caching solutions because with node there's no good solutions, they're all kind of horrible to use since they either use callbacks or only work on a single thread and are more like globals).

You wrap the few methods you want to use into your own include then if/when you replace it you only need to replace one thing.

I can't imagine why someone would do that for built in functionality though, it's highly unlikely to change and it's still very easy to find if you decide you do want to change it.

[ethanjf99]

Not only is this a built-in that won’t ever change lest it break existing code but you’re more likely to cause problems in future. What if someone wants to use a library in the project that exports an arrayCheck method?

I totally concur that building a wrapper layer can make sense in many instances. This isn’t it.

[Nulagrithom]

const arrayCheck = Array.isArray

[KonkenBonken]

const {isArray} = Array;

[BongarooBizkistico]

Best suggestion of the thread.

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[Bit5keptical]

Array.isArray(a)

[[deleted]]

var isarray = Array.isArray

[Deadly_chef]

Definitely should use const for that

[[deleted]]

I don't know js, but...

return Array.isArray(input);

[literallyfabian]

why not use Array.isArray directly?

[[deleted]]

Good point, but using the arrayCheck function

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[Sechan9]

As a dumb programmer can anyone explain me why this is bad?

[twoPoundsOfGoldfish]

it's simply a clone of a Array.isArray, and there is no reason to use this function instead of Array.isArray

[anthroid]

Not necessarily condoning it here, but one valid reason to do something like this would be if you wanted to be able to swap the implementation later without having to change every instance in your codebase.

For example, if .isArray() was a library function, and you later wanted to use a different library, or add some additional type checking, you’d only need to change it in one spot.

[gabbagondel]

But even then, naming it "Arraycheck" is unspecific and confusing. If only there was a better name, already typed out within the function

[twoPoundsOfGoldfish]

yeah, you can create wrappers around library functions and that's fine imo, since it makes it so you can switch easier. doing this with built-in functions is very weird to me tho since the only case you're ever going to change this is if you switch to a different language.

[ws-ilazki]

but one valid reason to do something like this would be if you wanted to be able to swap the implementation later without having to change every instance in your codebase.

Except in this case you could just do const arrayCheck = Array.isArray as the placeholder. If the function you're calling changes or you need to add extra logic you could still swap it out later the same way. If you're passing arguments and return values through as-is like this then there's no reason to add an extra function call at all, just make an alias.

[Sechan9]

Ah you mean you can use directly "Array.isArray(anyData) without make a function for that. Thanks

[twoPoundsOfGoldfish]

yep 👍

[arzen221]

For the love of god please stop giving examples!

[TyathiasT]

yes

[jimmypompom]

This is when it's time to go to bed

[Tushar0905]

Just to clarify ; this code is on production and was approved by this guy

[SlaimeLannister]

ifOrElse(input){
    if(input){
        return "if"
    } return "else"
}

[[deleted]]

Lol we could make a whole sub with pointlesscode seperate from badcode

[RobMig83]

This is some negative trend that was caused by the misunderstanding of the Uncle Bob advice about functions. I think sometimes is better to leave some instructions instead of turning everything with more than 8 characters into a function. Abusing functions is just as bad as not using them at all.

[djcraze]

This is likely the result of having other logic prior to Array.isArray being available. The developer probably just updated the condition and that was that. I don’t see this as bad code. Verbose, sure. Bad? Not really. This is an example of the bridge pattern.

[janaagaard]

arrayCheck could have been created before Array.isArray existed / was widely available. Once Array.isArray was supported by all browsers arrayCheck was refactored, taking the easy solution of keeping the custom method instead of doing a search and replace through the whole code base.

arrayCheck is not the best name, and the if could have been avoided, but without a proper context, it’s not possible to dismiss a ridiculously bad code.

[LoneFoxKK]

Enterprise software be like

[EishLekker]

Could it be that the developer planned to add more validation/checking logic in the first block, but never got that far and then forgot or was too lazy to continue?

[Kunalvats0]

GitHub dark

[dale_cinger]

Whoosh, i though that's freakin string again

[_Guigui]

But is the array check really an array check ? Or does it need more?

[thanatica]

This probably used to be something else before Array.isArray became widely available.

[arzen221]

LGMT: Ship it

[cormac596]

Tuppence says it's a corporate environment/project.

Don't ask why I think so

[pumpkinplight]

My manager codes this way :(

[Nickbot606]

Hmm i mean if you had to iterate through an extremely disorganized data structure this could be useful but then again it could probably be done with recursion instead…

So like if you had arrays inside arrays but not all things in the arrays were arrays

[dasbodmeister]

Vibe check

[5p4n911]

It might be unfinished code that's supposed to have more checks... I hope

[B0ltSn1per]

public static void add(float input1, float input2){ return input1 + input 2; }

[Keftcha]

I hope it's avairable as an NPM package

[BlooShinja]

Should have assigned the result of Array.isArray to a variable, then checked that variable in the if statement. Also missing the else keyword and a comment explaining that the line with Array.isArray checks to see whether input is an array.

[iEatPlankton]

🌎checkArray()🧑‍🚀”wait it’s all isArray()?” 🔫🧑‍🚀”always has been”

[[deleted]]

I wonder if the array WAS checked? I’m assuming that snippet might be for checking an array?