Clean Code : Keep code clean :: Method – Argument

Developers are authors. And one thing about authors is that they have readers.

• Method – Argument

• The ideal number of arguments for a function is zero (niladic). Next comes one (monadic), followed closely by two (dyadic).
• Three arguments (triadic) should be avoided where possible.
• More than three (polyadic) requires very special justification-and then shouldn’t be used anyway.
• Arguments are hard. They take a lot of conceptual power.

Flag Arguments

• Flag arguments are ugly. Passing a boolean into a function is a truly terrible practice.
• It immediately complicates the signature of the method, loudly proclaiming that this function does more than one thing.
• It does one thing if the flag is true and another if the flag is false!

Argument Objects

When a function seems to need more than two or three arguments, it is likely that some of those arguments ought to be wrapped into a class of their own.

For Example, 
Circle makeCircle(double x, double y, double radius);
Circle makeCircle(Point center, double radius);

Suggestions

• Functions that take three arguments are significantly harder to understand than dyads. The issues of ordering, pausing, and ignoring are more than doubled.
• I suggest you think very carefully before creating a triad.