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POWhere might I find a concise, well-written argument against this initialization anti-pattern, and possibly others?
 

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  1. POWhere might I find a concise, well-written argument against this initialization anti-pattern, and possibly others?
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    <p>A coworker of mine tends to design classes like:</p> <pre><code>class ImportantClass { public SomeClass ImportantField; public SomeOtherClass OtherImportantField; // etc. } </code></pre> <p>He'll write no constructor. Then wherever he instantiates this type his code will look like this:</p> <pre><code>ImportantClass x; try { // This is problematic enough to begin with, as every field (which is public) // is set manually, which causes code duplication wherever this type is // instantiated as well as maintenance problems in the event new fields are // introduced or internal implementation is changed. x = new ImportantClass(); x.ImportantField = new SomeClass(); x.OtherImportantField = new SomeOtherClass(); } catch (Exception ex) { // ...what's even worse: now x can easily be in a totally invalid state, // with some fields initialized and some not. HandleAnyException(ex); } </code></pre> <p>Obviously the above is an oversimplified (and exaggerated) example; but I think you get the point.</p> <p>I'm not posting this to criticize my coworker; rather, I want to get across to him the many problems in developing classes like this and point him in the right direction. I personally feel that this design, while quite poor, is something that is easily "fixed."</p> <p>My main concern is that <strong>if I want to convince him, it will be important for me to have an argument that is strong (well-supported), easy to understand, and concise</strong> (he's not going to want to read a 2-page e-mail telling him why I think his code needs to change).</p> <p>Are there any good resources out there that provide such well-crafted arguments, addressing the drawbacks of this and perhaps other ill-advised design anti-patterns? Something like a compendium of "common software design mistakes" would be extremely helpful, if it exists.</p> <p><strong>Note</strong>: I realize that simply talking about it is the most direct and probably least disruptive way to give advice; I'm just thinking, it would be nice to also have this resource that I can point to as a reference—again, if such a resource exists.</p>
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    1. COWow. They pay him to write stuff like that?
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