Have you ever come across the term “magic number” while reading tutorials, books, or watching programming videos? If so, you might be wondering what it actually means. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the concept of magic numbers and why they should be avoided in programming.
Contrary to what the name suggests, magic numbers have nothing to do with magicians or mystical powers. In programming, a number is considered magic when it lacks any associated meaning or explanation. It could be an arbitrary value passed to a function without any documentation or a number declared in code without clear understanding of its purpose.
The problem with magic numbers is that they introduce ambiguity and can lead to confusion. Changing a magic number without fully understanding its impact can have unintended consequences on the functionality of your code. This is why it is crucial to avoid them whenever possible.
A recommended approach to eliminate magic numbers is to declare constants with meaningful names. By assigning a constant to a magic number and using that constant in your code, you provide self-documentation and make the purpose of the number clear.
For instance, consider the following example:
PIN_ID = 1
doSomething(PIN_ID)
This code snippet is far superior and easier to understand compared to:
doSomething(1)
By using a constant PIN_ID instead of the magic number 1, you enhance the readability and maintainability of your code.
In conclusion, magic numbers should be avoided in programming. They introduce unnecessary confusion and make code harder to understand and maintain. By replacing magic numbers with meaningful constants, you can significantly improve the quality and clarity of your code.
Tags: magic numbers, programming best practices, code readability, constant declarations