| < What code should be put in a function? | When is the return keyword not needed in a Swift function? > |
How many parameters should a function accept?
Updated for Xcode 12.0
At first glance, this question seems like “how long is a piece of a string?” That is, it’s something where there is no real, hard answer – a function could take no parameters or take 20 of them.
That’s certainly true, but when a function takes many parameters – perhaps six or more, but this is extremely subjective – you need to start asking whether that function is perhaps doing a bit too much work.
- Does it need all six of those parameters?
- Could that function be split up into smaller functions that take fewer parameters?
- Should those parameters be grouped somehow?
We’ll look at some techniques for solving this later on, but there’s an important lesson to be learned here: this is called a “code smell” – something about our code that suggests an underlying problem in the way we’ve structured our program.
SPONSORED Ever ask for help and your reviewer immediately notices issues you missed? Fernando Olivares is a 10-year veteran from Big Nerd Ranch and Lambda School who can help hone your app building skills, and he's just launched a new book that does just that – use the code "hacking" to save $5!
Sponsor Hacking with Swift and reach the world's largest Swift community!
