Limit Cyclomatic Complexity (complexity)

Cyclomatic complexity measures the number of linearly independent paths through a program's source code. This rule allows setting a cyclomatic complexity threshold.

function a(x) {
    if (true) {
        return x; // 1st path
    } else if (false) {
        return x+1; // 2nd path
    } else {
        return 4; // 3rd path
    }
}

Rule Details

This rule is aimed at reducing code complexity by capping the amount of cyclomatic complexity allowed in a program. As such, it will warn when the cyclomatic complexity crosses the configured threshold (default is 20).

Examples of incorrect code for a maximum of 2:

/*eslint complexity: ["error", 2]*/

function a(x) {
    if (true) {
        return x;
    } else if (false) {
        return x+1;
    } else {
        return 4; // 3rd path
    }
}

Examples of correct code for a maximum of 2:

/*eslint complexity: ["error", 2]*/

function a(x) {
    if (true) {
        return x;
    } else {
        return 4;
    }
}

Options

Optionally, you may specify a max object property:

"complexity": ["error", 2]

is equivalent to

"complexity": ["error", { "max": 2 }]

Deprecated: the object property maximum is deprecated. Please use the property max instead.

When Not To Use It

If you can't determine an appropriate complexity limit for your code, then it's best to disable this rule.

Further Reading

• About Complexity
• Complexity Analysis of JavaScript Code

Related Rules

• [max-depth](max-depth.md)
• [max-len](max-len.md)
• [max-nested-callbacks](max-nested-callbacks.md)
• [max-params](max-params.md)
• [max-statements](max-statements.md) Source: http://eslint.org/docs/rules/

Cognitive Complexity

Cognitive Complexity is a measure of how difficult a unit of code is to intuitively understand. Unlike Cyclomatic Complexity, which determines how difficult your code will be to test, Cognitive Complexity tells you how difficult your code will be to read and comprehend.

A method's cognitive complexity is based on a few simple rules:

• Code is not considered more complex when it uses shorthand that the language provides for collapsing multiple statements into one
• Code is considered more complex for each "break in the linear flow of the code"
• Code is considered more complex when "flow breaking structures are nested"

Further reading

• Cognitive Complexity docs
• Cognitive Complexity: A new way of measuring understandability

disallow assignment operators in conditional statements (no-cond-assign)

In conditional statements, it is very easy to mistype a comparison operator (such as ==) as an assignment operator (such as =). For example:

// Check the user's job title
if (user.jobTitle = "manager") {
    // user.jobTitle is now incorrect
}

There are valid reasons to use assignment operators in conditional statements. However, it can be difficult to tell whether a specific assignment was intentional.

Rule Details

This rule disallows ambiguous assignment operators in test conditions of if, for, while, and do...while statements.

Options

This rule has a string option:

• "except-parens" (default) allows assignments in test conditions only if they are enclosed in parentheses (for example, to allow reassigning a variable in the test of a while or do...while loop)
• "always" disallows all assignments in test conditions

except-parens

Examples of incorrect code for this rule with the default "except-parens" option:

/*eslint no-cond-assign: "error"*/

// Unintentional assignment
var x;
if (x = 0) {
    var b = 1;
}

// Practical example that is similar to an error
function setHeight(someNode) {
    "use strict";
    do {
        someNode.height = "100px";
    } while (someNode = someNode.parentNode);
}

Examples of correct code for this rule with the default "except-parens" option:

/*eslint no-cond-assign: "error"*/

// Assignment replaced by comparison
var x;
if (x === 0) {
    var b = 1;
}

// Practical example that wraps the assignment in parentheses
function setHeight(someNode) {
    "use strict";
    do {
        someNode.height = "100px";
    } while ((someNode = someNode.parentNode));
}

// Practical example that wraps the assignment and tests for 'null'
function setHeight(someNode) {
    "use strict";
    do {
        someNode.height = "100px";
    } while ((someNode = someNode.parentNode) !== null);
}

always

Examples of incorrect code for this rule with the "always" option:

/*eslint no-cond-assign: ["error", "always"]*/

// Unintentional assignment
var x;
if (x = 0) {
    var b = 1;
}

// Practical example that is similar to an error
function setHeight(someNode) {
    "use strict";
    do {
        someNode.height = "100px";
    } while (someNode = someNode.parentNode);
}

// Practical example that wraps the assignment in parentheses
function setHeight(someNode) {
    "use strict";
    do {
        someNode.height = "100px";
    } while ((someNode = someNode.parentNode));
}

// Practical example that wraps the assignment and tests for 'null'
function setHeight(someNode) {
    "use strict";
    do {
        someNode.height = "100px";
    } while ((someNode = someNode.parentNode) !== null);
}

Examples of correct code for this rule with the "always" option:

/*eslint no-cond-assign: ["error", "always"]*/

// Assignment replaced by comparison
var x;
if (x === 0) {
    var b = 1;
}

Related Rules

• [no-extra-parens](no-extra-parens.md) Source: http://eslint.org/docs/rules/