I recently inherited a huge legacy project (let’s call it FailApp) which features brutally substandard code. I’ll present the best gems here, not as a rant, but as a case study of what is possible to be delivered in the software industry for a six figures sum of money.

The gems are categorized in three levels and (due to popular demand) each contains an oneliner of what the author should have done instead.

1) the LOL s

The LOLs are code gems that when you discover them you laugh out loud. They are so funny that you’ll mention them to your coworkers while drinking beer or even post them in a forum in order to have a laugh. They are little harmless anecdotes of failure that the average Joe programmer will do. They are usually the result of incompetent project management (stuffing serious projecs with baby developers) and total absense of industry standard practices such as code reviews, unit tests and code conventions.

2) the WTF s

The WTFs are code gems and design decisions which are totally perverted. You’ll discover some of them after an hour worth of debugging and they are not very funny but rather piss you off. They cause problems in the health of the project and they are the reason why the client ditched the original authors of the app and brought it to you.

3) the showstoppers

Things get hard and serious here. The showstoppers are fatal, dangerous and inexplicable design decisions that the original author made which make your brain explode. They are hard to deal with and will usually cause serious bottlenecks to the application and irreversible data corruptions. When you discover them you will immediatelly call an urgent meeting with the management to explain the situation. These are no fun stuff and probably written by people who have no idea of what they are doing. These problems usually cost serious amounts of money.

The code snippets of the FailApp have not been changed at all. In this case there isn’t any “innocent” to protect since serious harm has been already done with this codebase.

So, here we go.

LOL#1

“Prod” in the application context name. So the staging environment URL looks like http://123.12.34.123:7001/FailAppProd and the production http://123.12.34.134:7001/FailAppProd . Good luck remembering which one is which.

Solution: Not use the environment name in the URL at all. If necessary provide variability on deployment descriptors (possibly upon build generation) which configures “dev”, “prod”, “staging” in the context name.

LOL#2

EscapeIlegalWords eiw = new EscapeIlegalWords(); foo = eiw.escapeIlegalWords(foo);

Yes, we’ve got a spelling mistake here and a really bad local variable name. But the real laugh comes when you navigate into the method:

public static String escapeIlegalWords(String code) { code = code.replaceAll("<", "<"); code = code.replaceAll(">", ">"); code = code.replaceAll("&", "&"); code = code.replaceAll("'", "'"); code = code.replaceAll(""", "\""); code = code.replaceAll(" ", ""); return code; }

– a new instance for calling the static method? ouch…

– oh I see, there aren’t any “illegal words” here, it simply does something with html which should be done in the template anyway…

– damn, this is the opposite of escaping!

– class name doesn’t make any sense at all

Solution: Fix mentioned issues.

LOL#3

session.setAttribute("contentXML", null); session.removeAttribute("contentXML"); session.setAttribute("contentOwnerList", null); session.removeAttribute("contentOwnerList"); session.setAttribute("structuresVector", null); session.removeAttribute("structuresVector"); session.setAttribute("selectedThematic", null); session.removeAttribute("selectedThematic"); session.setAttribute("selectedTarget", null); session.removeAttribute("selectedTarget"); session.setAttribute("targetList", null); session.removeAttribute("targetList"); session.setAttribute("thematicList", null); session.removeAttribute("thematicList"); session.setAttribute("metadatas", null); session.removeAttribute("metadatas");

– yes, please do make sure that you really remove those variables from the session… removing them twice will eventually do the trick.

Solution: Remove the setAttribute(…, null) statements because they are redundant.

LOL#4

ArrayList arrActions = new ArrayList();

HashMap order = new HashMap();

public ArrayList getHighLights(int idStructure, int language, int home) { ...

– thank you very much for declaring on concrete type. ever heard of Interfaces and the Collections API design philosophy?

Solution: Declare on Interfaces which is enough for these cases.

LOL#5

ArrayList avlanguages=null; if (request.getAttribute("avlanguages")!=null){ avlanguages=(ArrayList)request.getAttribute("avlanguages"); } <%if (avlanguages!=null && avlanguages.size()>0){%> <%for(int x=0;x<avlanguages.size();x++) { %>

– yes, this is too much Java code inside JSP pages instead of using JSTL’s <c:forEach...

Solution: The view layer should use JSTL and not JSP scriptlets.

LOL#6

Some spelling mistakes which will definitely complicate greping for information in logs and code:

END GENERTAION THEMATICS.

updateStatusDocumentDeplubishCron()

Solution: Avoid spelling mistakes.

LOL#7

CommonDatosPopUp pop = new CommonDatosPopUp(); pop = (CommonDatosPopUp)popUp[i];

– that is great. thanks for instantiating something only to throw it away. it does make sense in case the constructor is firing a missile though.

Solution: Declare and fetch from array in one line avoiding the unnecessary construction of an object.

LOL#8

ArrayList List = new ArrayList(); List = (ArrayList) baseManagerDao.getPosition(baseItemIdVar); for (int i = 0; i < List.size(); i++)

– once again, create that empty ArrayList() and then throw it away

– declaration on concrete Collection type

– iterating a Collection datastructure using index

– exceptional naming of variable List to look like the Interface List (I wonder why the language allows such a raping of itself here)

Solution: Fix mentioned problems.

WTF#1

if (cm.getBlockLevels() != null) { request.setAttribute("blocklevel", cm.getBlockLevels()); } if (cm.getUsers() != null) { request.setAttribute("users", cm.getUsers()); } if (pm.getSigGroupPub() != null) { request.setAttribute("siggroups", pm.getSigGroupPub()); }

– hm… cm and pm (really bad local variable names) are managers which delegate calls to DAO s. These DAO methods (probably hitting a database) are being called twice

– and why do we have to nullcheck in the first place? if the result is null we can simply put null (remove) into the request attrs. (and no, these variables where not previously set into the request by another piece of code).

Solution: Remove the if statements altogether. If the statements are necessary assign result from managers to local variables to avoid double DAO method execution.

WTF#2

While trying to fix something I searched for “siggroup”. Notice the variations of the key, all apearing in the same (2000 line) controller:

request.setAttribute("siggroups", pm.getSigGroupPub());

request.setAttribute("sigGroups", sigGroups);

request.setAttribute("SigGroups", hm.getSigGroups(Integer...

– zero consistency is the salt of the programmers life…

– the best part though is in the template:

List sig = (List) request.getAttribute("sigGroups"); if(sig == null) { sig = (List) request.getAttribute("SigGroups"); }

– good luck finding which collection you are rendering on screen now…

Solution: Be consistent in the naming of your variables, especially those which are being used in another layer of the application, the view layer. Never do such acrobatics with the capitalization of variables. Once again, use proper names.

WTF#3

There is no javadoc and the most crucial parts of the app are commented in a non English language, including non-ascii characters. http://translate.google.com/ to the rescue.

Solution: Unless your company code style guidelines allow it, never use non-English in projects, especially EU funded ones where you’ll need to deliver full source code later on. Also, non-ascii characters may make some systems of the deployment process choke (e.g peers with old editors, old source diff programs, badly installed C.I environments etc). Also they can become the causes of bugs. e.g can you spot the difference between String action = "NULL"; and String action = "ΝULL"; ? This can cause problems, that’s why some people decide to never allow non-ascii characters into their IDE so they can catch these issues early on.

WTF#4

Classes with 2000 lines of code methods and 14 level nested ifs. These are usually do-everything controllers which serve many unrelated things from the same codebase (page results, binary downloads, csv). These are usually replicated 10 times with minor differences to accomodate slightly different use cases. Nough said.

Solution: It has happened to all of us. It’s called spaghetti code. When it happens try to think of a better design. If you can’t, please consult the lead developer of the project for assistance. Spaghetti code will bite you back sooner than you expect.

WTF#5

pubHighlights = cm.getHighLights(structId, userLang, Constants.PREDEFINED_SEARCH);

– ok, we are using constants for variability instead of different methods or inheritance

body of method:

public ArrayList getHighLights(int idStructure, String lang, int home) { ... if (home == 1) { listado = commonDao.getHightLightHome(idStructure); } else { listado = commonDao.getHightLightPredefinedSearch(idStructure); }

– facepalm for home==1 instead of Constant. good luck with debugging when that constant changes

– by the way it turns out that the initial call should send Constants.HOME instead of Constants.PREDEFINED_SEARCH. It just happens that both equals 1.

Solution: Use OOP practices for solving such problems. If you can’t and need to use constants please use enums. If you can’t use enums and need to use primitive constants please do make full use of them (and not partial, as in this case).

WTF#6

Absence of templating reuse. The 150+ JSP templates contain everything from html declarations to website footer (with copyrights and everything). Only with minor and insignificant differences due to inconsistent copy pasting of headers and whole pages with minor changes. Ever heard of include?

Solution: Do not copy paste like crazy. By copy pasting sections instead of reusing them you may end up with templates which are as complex as your code. All templating systems offer facilities for reuse.

WTF#7

Form validation for the brave:

if (appForm.getFileCV() == null || StringUtils.isEmpty(appForm.getFileCV().getFileName())){ errors.add("fileCV", new ActionError("error.fileCV.required")); }else if (!appForm.getFileCV().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".doc") && !appForm.getFileCV().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".pdf") && !appForm.getFileCV().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".rtf") && !appForm.getFileCV().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".sdc") && !appForm.getFileCV().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".zip") ) errorExtension = true; if (appForm.getFileLetter() == null || StringUtils.isEmpty(appForm.getFileLetter().getFileName())){ errors.add("fileLetter", new ActionError("error.fileLetter.required")); }else if (!appForm.getFileLetter().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".doc") && !appForm.getFileLetter().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".pdf") && !appForm.getFileLetter().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".rtf") && !appForm.getFileLetter().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".zip") && !appForm.getFileLetter().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".zip")) errorExtension = true; /* if (fileForm == null || StringUtils.isEmpty(fileForm.getFileName())){ errors.add("fileForm", new ActionError("error.fileForm.required")); }else*/ if(appForm.getFileForm() != null && !StringUtils.isEmpty(appForm.getFileForm().getFileName())) if (!appForm.getFileForm().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".doc") && !appForm.getFileForm().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".pdf") && !appForm.getFileForm().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".rtf") && !appForm.getFileForm().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".sdc") && !appForm.getFileForm().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".zip")) errorExtension = true; if(appForm.getFileOther1() != null && !StringUtils.isEmpty(appForm.getFileOther1().getFileName())) if (!appForm.getFileOther1().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".doc") && !appForm.getFileOther1().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".pdf") && !appForm.getFileOther1().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".rtf")&& !appForm.getFileOther1().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".sdc") && !appForm.getFileOther1().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".zip")) errorExtension = true; if(appForm.getFileOther2() != null && !StringUtils.isEmpty(appForm.getFileOther2().getFileName())) if (!appForm.getFileOther2().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".doc") && !appForm.getFileOther2().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".pdf") && !appForm.getFileOther2().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".rtf")&& !appForm.getFileOther2().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".sdc") && !appForm.getFileOther2().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".zip")) errorExtension = true; if(appForm.getFileOther3() != null && !StringUtils.isEmpty(appForm.getFileOther3().getFileName())) if (!appForm.getFileOther3().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".doc") && !appForm.getFileOther3().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".pdf") && !appForm.getFileOther3().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".rtf")&& !appForm.getFileOther3().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".sdc") && !appForm.getFileOther3().getFileName().toLowerCase().endsWith(".zip")) errorExtension = true;

Solution: Don’t do this. All MVC frameworks offer some sort of validation facility in order to avoid code soup such as the above. Even if it doesn’t, try to extract the most repeated part of the validation into a method which you’ll reuse.

WTF#8

There are methods which return Vector (yes, 1999 called) and it turns out that the result is never being used but instead the purpose of the method is to mutate the parameters. Smart.

Solution: Instead of Vector use a List. Methods should not have sideeffects and when they do they should mention it in the documentation or reveal it in the method name. Also, returning an unmodified object only to sideeffect the arguments is very confusing. If the method’s logic changes during implementation please try to adapt its signature so it keeps making sense.

showstopper#1

cm.getHighLights is an expensive operation (calculates the nested menu of the website) and the following code is supposed to introduce caching into the game:

ArrayList pubHighlights = (ArrayList)request.getSession().getAttribute("publicationsHighlights"); if(pubHighlights == null || pubHighlights.size() == 0) pubHighlights = cm.getHighLights(structId, userLang, Constants.PREDEFINED_SEARCH); request.getSession().setAttribute("publicationsHighlights", pubHighlights);

– it stores the result in the http session so there is a lot of waste of memory in case we have many users

– the generated menu takes into account “structId” and “userLang”. The cache key is only one though (“publicationsHighlights” in the session), so if the user changes structId or userLang, the menu stays the same

– changes on the menu structure are not reflected to already cached clients. They’ll see these changes only if they get a new session (come back later, use another browser etc)

Solution: Think of your cache design. Does it make sense or does it brake the UI and the server? In this case the cache should be in the application layer and the key should take into account all parameters which should modify the appearance and behavior of the cached object.

showstopper#2

Application “does things” to the database on view. Things == if stuff are not there it silently creates them, so for example if you visit the about page of the French site and there is no content there (either from CM error or data corruption) it simply creates an empty one and inserts it into the database. This is nice and useful especially when the application thinks that there isn’t any content there, so after a couple of days you’ll find thousand of empty “about” pages under the French site waiting to be fixed by you.

Solution: This is dangerous. Don’t do it. GET requests should rarely modify the database.

showstopper#3

Total incompetence in exception design and handling. The usual anti-pattern of swallow and return new ArrayList() is followed through the system. Database errors are masked and the system goes on doing what it was doing (e.g continuing with other parts of data changes, email dispatching etc).

Solution: Learn about exception handling and how they make sense in your application’s layers. Have a look at 1, 2 and 3.

showstopper#4

“Change navigation element==edit property” anti-pattern. This is sick. Imagine a CRUD page with a couple of filters on top and an entities listing below. In the year filter you choose 2010 and hit GO. The listing is updated with entries from 2010. Now you change the year filter to 2011 but do not hit GO. Instead you hit EDIT on one of the 2010 entities below. What happens is that the 2011 value from the filter is transfered into the (hidden) element of the edit form. As soon as you hit SUBMIT the entity now belongs on 2011. Nice.

Solution: Don’t do this. The application should have clearly defined use cases for modifying objects. Never trust the UI.

showstopper#5

The search is FUBAR . A single search for “foo” issues 200.000 db queries and requires 5 minutes on the production server because:

– it first does “select *” the whole publications database in sorted batches of 1000 back to a collection.

– it then feeds this collection into a method which filters things out.

– while filtering some entity methods are accessed and due to bad fetch plan from hibernate tons of N+1 statements are executed.

Solution: When developing try to fill in your test database with tons of data to see how your use cases scale. For this particular issue, learning about the ORM’s fetch plans and how these relate to your model and use cases is very useful.

showstopper#6

“Toxic servlets hierarchy”. All actions extend something (a base class) which extends servlet. The base class provides a public static spring factory field which is initialized on boot of the servlet. Yes, the only reason of existence of this base class is to provide this field and the actions extend it in order to get access to this public static field. Great.

Solution: Don’t do this. If you use Spring then use it properly.

showstopper#7

Log4j & hibernate initialization rediscovered! Both libraries are being configured in the following fashion:

– read the log4j.properties and hibernate.cfg.xml configuration files from a custom location using a ContextListener

– write contents into a new file in the server’s root folder

– load from there

– documentation states that if application cannot boot the application’s configuration files should be removed from the server’s root folder!

Solution: Both frameworks require the configuration file in the default classpath. No acrobatics required.

The end.