Intermediate, meaningful variable names

Here's another good idea from Uncle Bob. While it's technically faster and more compact to directly include complex conditions in code, consider creating and populating a meaningful variable and then referencing that. For example, this code is  less clear...

            if (length * width * height > 1000000)

                throw new ArgumentException();

  

Whereas this code is more clear...

            bool BoxTooBig = (length * width * height > 1000000);

            if (BoxTooBig)

                throw new ArgumentException();

  

Even better...

            int MaxBoxSize = 1000000;

            bool BoxTooBig = (length * width * height > MaxBoxSize);

            if (BoxTooBig)

                throw new ArgumentException();

                             

Sometimes more is more.

Here's a piece of code I found in a new application being developed...

            if (dr["Flags"].ToString().Substring(17,1) == "C")

Clearly this application has dire need of some TLC but at least we could have...

            const int DocumentStatusOffset = 17;

            const string CompletedStatus = "C";

            if (dr["Flags"].ToString().Substring(DocumentStatusOffset, 1) == CompletedStatus)