Conditional Simplification Strategy

Select and apply the correct refactoring for complex or tangled conditional logic. Use when: a method has a complicated if-then-else that obscures why branching happens (not just what happens); a series of conditions all produce the same result; the same code fragment appears inside every branch; a boolean variable is being used as a control flag to track loop state; nested conditionals bury the normal execution path under special-case checks; a switch statement (or long if-else-if chain) branches on an object's type and new types are expected; a method's parameter controls which of several distinct operations runs; null checks are scattered throughout client code for the same object. Covers all 8 conditional refactorings from Fowler Chapter 9: Decompose Conditional, Consolidate Conditional Expression, Consolidate Duplicate Conditional Fragments, Remove Control Flag, Replace Nested Conditional with Guard Clauses, Replace Conditional with Polymorphism, Replace Parameter with Explicit Methods, Introduce Null Object. Also covers the supporting technique Introduce Assertion for making implicit state assumptions explicit. Includes the key semantic distinction between guard clauses (rare special cases that exit) and if-else (equal-weight alternatives), and Fowler's rejection of the single-exit-point rule as a reason to avoid early returns.

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Install

Claude CodeClawhHubnpxCursorCodexGemini CLI

1. Add marketplace

› /plugin marketplace add bookforge-ai/bookforge-skills

2. Install plugin

› /plugin install refactoring@bookforge-skills

3. Use the skill

› /conditional-simplification-strategy

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Source Book

Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code

Martin Fowler

More from Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code

Refactoringhybrid

Big Refactoring Planner

Plan and execute architectural-scale refactoring campaigns that take weeks to months — the four named patterns for large-scale structural restructuring from Fowler and Beck's Chapter 12. Use when: an inheritance hierarchy is doing two distinct jobs and subclass names share the same adjective prefix at every level (Tease Apart Inheritance); a codebase written in an object-oriented language uses a procedural style with long methods on behavior-less classes and dumb data objects (Convert Procedural Design to Objects); GUI or window classes contain SQL queries, business rules, or pricing logic instead of just display code (Separate Domain from Presentation); a single class has accumulated so many conditional statements that every new case requires editing the same class in multiple places (Extract Hierarchy). Applies when code-smell-diagnosis has surfaced Parallel Inheritance Hierarchies, Data Class, or Large Class with deep conditional branching and the fix is too large for a single refactoring session. Distinguishes between the four patterns by structural signal, selects the correct pattern and variant, and produces a multi-week campaign plan with interleaved feature development milestones.

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Build Refactoring Test Suite

Build a sufficient automated test suite before refactoring existing code by applying a 6-step sequential construction workflow (test class → fixture → normal behavior → boundary conditions → expected errors → green-suite gate) and a bug-fix variant (write failing test first → reproduce → fix → verify green). Use this skill when you are about to refactor a class or module that lacks tests, when a bug report arrives and you need to pin it down before fixing it, when you want to establish the compile-and-test gate that makes every subsequent refactoring step safe to revert, or when you need to assess whether an existing test suite is adequate to protect a planned refactoring.

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Class Responsibility Realignment

Redistribute methods and fields to the classes that own them, repair broken inheritance hierarchies, and extend unmodifiable library classes. Use when: a method uses another class's data far more than its own (Feature Envy — the method belongs in the other class); a single logical change forces edits across many files (Shotgun Surgery — scattered behavior needs consolidation); a class delegates half or more of its methods without adding value (Middle Man — remove the hollow layer or collapse it into inheritance); two classes share too much private knowledge about each other (Inappropriate Intimacy — separate the entangled pieces); a recurring group of fields travels together across class boundaries (Data Clumps — extract the group into its own class); a class has grown to serve two distinct responsibilities that change for different reasons (Extract Class — split it); a class that used to have a purpose has been refactored down to almost nothing (Inline Class — absorb it into its most active collaborator). For inheritance hierarchies: move common behavior upward (Pull Up Method, Pull Up Field) when subclasses duplicate it; push specialized behavior downward (Push Down Method, Push Down Field, Extract Subclass) when only some subclasses need it; create a shared abstraction over two similar but unrelated classes (Extract Superclass); extract a protocol-only contract (Extract Interface) when clients use only a subset of the class; merge a hierarchy that has converged (Collapse Hierarchy); move similar-but-not-identical subclass methods into a common template (Form Template Method); swap inheritance for delegation (Replace Inheritance with Delegation) when a subclass uses only part of the superclass interface or inherits inappropriate data; swap back (Replace Delegation with Inheritance) when the delegation covers the full interface and adds no control. For unmodifiable library classes: add one or two methods as foreign methods in the client class; add many methods via a local extension (subclass or wrapper). Decision rule for encapsulation balance: Hide Delegate to shield clients from internal structure; Remove Middle Man when the delegating layer has grown hollow. Decision rule for inheritance vs delegation: use Extract Subclass when variation is fixed at construction time and single-dimensional; use Extract Class (delegation) when variation is runtime-flexible or multi-dimensional — "if you want the class to vary in several different ways, you have to use delegation for all but one of them."

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Code Smell Diagnosis

Scan a codebase or code fragment for the 22 named code smells from Fowler's refactoring catalog and produce a prioritized diagnosis report with the specific refactoring prescription for each smell. Use when: a developer wants to know what is wrong with existing code before touching it; a code review reveals structural problems but no clear fix; a class or method feels wrong but the exact smell is hard to name; a refactoring effort needs a starting point and a prioritized order of attack; a code author wants to justify a refactoring to a team by naming the specific smell and the prescribed remedy. Covers all 22 smells: Duplicated Code, Long Method, Large Class, Long Parameter List, Divergent Change, Shotgun Surgery, Feature Envy, Data Clumps, Primitive Obsession, Switch Statements, Parallel Inheritance Hierarchies, Lazy Class, Speculative Generality, Temporary Field, Message Chains, Middle Man, Inappropriate Intimacy, Alternative Classes with Different Interfaces, Incomplete Library Class, Data Class, Refused Bequest, Comments. Maps each smell to its Fowler-prescribed refactoring(s) including conditional branches (same class vs. sibling subclasses vs. unrelated classes for Duplicated Code; few cases vs. type code vs. null for Switch Statements; etc.).

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