Having two when
clauses in a case
statement or two branches in an if
chain with the same implementation is
at best duplicate code, and at worst a coding error. If the same logic is truly needed for both instances, then in an if
chain they
should be combined, or for a case
, duplicates should be refactored.
Noncompliant Code Example
case i
when 1
doFirstThing()
doSomething()
when 2
doSomethingDifferent()
when 3 # Noncompliant; duplicates case 1's implementation
doFirstThing()
doSomething()
else
doTheRest()
end
if a >= 0 && a < 10
doFirstThing()
doTheThing()
elsif a >= 10 && a < 20
doTheOtherThing()
elsif a >= 20 && a < 50
doFirstThing()
doTheThing() # Noncompliant; duplicates first condition
else
doTheRest()
end
Exceptions
Blocks in an if
chain that contain a single line of code are ignored, as are blocks in a case
statement that contain a
single line of code.
if a ==
doSomething() # no issue, usually this is done on purpose to increase the readability
elsif a == 2
doSomethingElse()
else
doSomething()
end
But this exception does not apply to if
chains without else
-s, or to case
-es without else
clauses when all branches have the same single line of code. In case of if
chains with else
-s, or of case
-es
with else
clauses, rule {rule:ruby:S3923} raises a bug.
if a == 1
doSomething() # Noncompliant, this might have been done on purpose but probably not
elsif a == 2
doSomething()
end