Code Smell
Conspicuous pattern in code that is not necessarily wrong but points to a deeper problem.
A code smell is a pattern in source code that is not faulty in itself but, experience shows, points to a deeper problem. Typical examples are very long functions, duplicated code in several places, functions with many parameters or classes that are responsible for too many different tasks.
The term comes, like refactoring itself, from the circle around Martin Fowler. A code smell is a hint, not a verdict: it shows where a closer look is worthwhile, not automatically that something has to be changed at that spot.
What Provimedia uses it for
Provimedia uses code smells as a reason for targeted questions in review, not as an automatic reason for rejection.
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