Bad Smells in Code

If you've read anything by Kent Beck or Martin Fowler you'll probably have come across the concept of Bad Smells in developing computer systems. Not every developer I know has heard of these though, or if they have they're not entirely sure what it means.

In general terms it basically means that something just doesn't feel right in the code. But it can take a few years experience in writing code before you get to the point where you start getting this feeling, so I'm glad that a list of the common bad smells are listed for all to see.

The list is by no means complete, but please check out the most common bad smells.