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

This cop checks for strings that are just an interpolated expression.

Example:

# bad
"#{@var}"

# good
@var.to_s

# good if @var is already a String
@var

This cop can check for array literals made up of symbols that are not using the %i() syntax.

Alternatively, it checks for symbol arrays using the %i() syntax on projects which do not want to use that syntax.

Configuration option: MinSize If set, arrays with fewer elements than this value will not trigger the cop. For example, a MinSize of3` will not enforce a style on an array of 2 or fewer elements.

Example: EnforcedStyle: percent (default)

# good
%i[foo bar baz]

# bad
[:foo, :bar, :baz]

Example: EnforcedStyle: brackets

# good
[:foo, :bar, :baz]

# bad
%i[foo bar baz]

This cop checks whether some constant value isn't a mutable literal (e.g. array or hash).

Example:

# bad
CONST = [1, 2, 3]

# good
CONST = [1, 2, 3].freeze

This cop identifies places where URI.escape can be replaced by CGI.escape, URI.encode_www_form or URI.encode_www_form_component depending on your specific use case. Also this cop identifies places where URI.unescape can be replaced by CGI.unescape, URI.decode_www_form or URI.decode_www_form_component depending on your specific use case.

Example:

# bad
URI.escape('http://example.com')
URI.encode('http://example.com')

# good
CGI.escape('http://example.com')
URI.encode_www_form([['example', 'param'], ['lang', 'en']])
URI.encode_www_form(page: 10, locale: 'en')
URI.encode_www_form_component('http://example.com')

# bad
URI.unescape(enc_uri)
URI.decode(enc_uri)

# good
CGI.unescape(enc_uri)
URI.decode_www_form(enc_uri)
URI.decode_www_form_component(enc_uri)

This cop checks for uses of fail and raise.

Example: EnforcedStyle: only_raise (default)

# The `only_raise` style enforces the sole use of `raise`.
# bad
begin
  fail
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

def watch_out
  fail
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

Kernel.fail

# good
begin
  raise
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

def watch_out
  raise
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

Kernel.raise

Example: EnforcedStyle: only_fail

# The `only_fail` style enforces the sole use of `fail`.
# bad
begin
  raise
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

def watch_out
  raise
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

Kernel.raise

# good
begin
  fail
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

def watch_out
  fail
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

Kernel.fail

Example: EnforcedStyle: semantic

# The `semantic` style enforces the use of `fail` to signal an
# exception, then will use `raise` to trigger an offense after
# it has been rescued.
# bad
begin
  raise
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

def watch_out
  # Error thrown
rescue Exception
  fail
end

Kernel.fail
Kernel.raise

# good
begin
  fail
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

def watch_out
  fail
rescue Exception
  raise 'Preferably with descriptive message'
end

explicit_receiver.fail
explicit_receiver.raise

This cop can check for array literals made up of symbols that are not using the %i() syntax.

Alternatively, it checks for symbol arrays using the %i() syntax on projects which do not want to use that syntax.

Configuration option: MinSize If set, arrays with fewer elements than this value will not trigger the cop. For example, a MinSize of3` will not enforce a style on an array of 2 or fewer elements.

Example: EnforcedStyle: percent (default)

# good
%i[foo bar baz]

# bad
[:foo, :bar, :baz]

Example: EnforcedStyle: brackets

# good
[:foo, :bar, :baz]

# bad
%i[foo bar baz]

This cop can check for array literals made up of symbols that are not using the %i() syntax.

Alternatively, it checks for symbol arrays using the %i() syntax on projects which do not want to use that syntax.

Configuration option: MinSize If set, arrays with fewer elements than this value will not trigger the cop. For example, a MinSize of3` will not enforce a style on an array of 2 or fewer elements.

Example: EnforcedStyle: percent (default)

# good
%i[foo bar baz]

# bad
[:foo, :bar, :baz]

Example: EnforcedStyle: brackets

# good
[:foo, :bar, :baz]

# bad
%i[foo bar baz]

If the else branch of a conditional consists solely of an if node, it can be combined with the else to become an elsif. This helps to keep the nesting level from getting too deep.

Example:

# bad
if condition_a
  action_a
else
  if condition_b
    action_b
  else
    action_c
  end
end

# good
if condition_a
  action_a
elsif condition_b
  action_b
else
  action_c
end

This cop checks for strings that are just an interpolated expression.

Example:

# bad
"#{@var}"

# good
@var.to_s

# good if @var is already a String
@var

This cop checks for uses of fail and raise.

Example: EnforcedStyle: only_raise (default)

# The `only_raise` style enforces the sole use of `raise`.
# bad
begin
  fail
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

def watch_out
  fail
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

Kernel.fail

# good
begin
  raise
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

def watch_out
  raise
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

Kernel.raise

Example: EnforcedStyle: only_fail

# The `only_fail` style enforces the sole use of `fail`.
# bad
begin
  raise
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

def watch_out
  raise
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

Kernel.raise

# good
begin
  fail
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

def watch_out
  fail
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

Kernel.fail

Example: EnforcedStyle: semantic

# The `semantic` style enforces the use of `fail` to signal an
# exception, then will use `raise` to trigger an offense after
# it has been rescued.
# bad
begin
  raise
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

def watch_out
  # Error thrown
rescue Exception
  fail
end

Kernel.fail
Kernel.raise

# good
begin
  fail
rescue Exception
  # handle it
end

def watch_out
  fail
rescue Exception
  raise 'Preferably with descriptive message'
end

explicit_receiver.fail
explicit_receiver.raise

This cop checks for strings that are just an interpolated expression.

Example:

# bad
"#{@var}"

# good
@var.to_s

# good if @var is already a String
@var

This cop enforces the consistent usage of %-literal delimiters.

Specify the 'default' key to set all preferred delimiters at once. You can continue to specify individual preferred delimiters to override the default.

Example:

# Style/PercentLiteralDelimiters:
#   PreferredDelimiters:
#     default: '[]'
#     '%i':    '()'

# good
%w[alpha beta] + %i(gamma delta)

# bad
%W(alpha #{beta})

# bad
%I(alpha beta)