Using Salesforce Code Analyzer: How to Refactor Your Code for Better Quality and Maintainability
All Salesforce developers (including myself) face the challenge of keeping the Apex code (we write) clean, efficient, and maintainable. Whether you're working on a small project or a large enterprise solution, it's easy for code quality to degrade over time, especially if it's written without enough attention to best practices.
One tool that’s helped me drastically improve the quality of my code is the Salesforce Code Analyzer extension in Visual Studio Code. This extension automatically analyzes your Apex classes and provides instant feedback on a wide range of issues, from long classes to missing security clauses in queries. It helps identify areas for refactoring, and it has become an indispensable part of my development workflow.
In this blog post, I’ll walk you through how I use the Salesforce Code Analyzer, the common issues it helps identify, and how I refactor my code to improve its structure and maintainability.
What is the Salesforce Code Analyzer?
The Salesforce Code Analyzer is a VS Code extension that performs static code analysis of your Apex code whenever you save a file. It highlights errors and potential improvements in real time, making it easy to identify code that violates best practices or contains bugs.
The extension checks for various types of issues, including:
• Code complexity (Cyclomatic and Cognitive Complexity)
• Large classes and methods (Encouraging smaller, more manageable code)
• Missing security clauses in SOQL and SOSL queries
• Inline DML issues and more...
By highlighting these issues, the extension helps you refactor your code before they become a bigger problem, improving readability, performance, and security.
Common Issues Identified by the Salesforce Code Analyzer
Here are some of the most common issues that the Salesforce Code Analyzer flags in my Apex code:
1. Long Classes and Methods
One of the primary guidelines for clean code is to keep methods and classes small. Long classes or methods with excessive lines of code can become difficult to maintain, understand, and debug. They often also lead to higher cyclomatic complexity, which makes your code harder to test and more prone to bugs.
2. Cyclomatic Complexity
Cyclomatic complexity measures the number of independent paths through your code. High cyclomatic complexity usually means the code is hard to understand and test. The higher the number, the more complex and error-prone the code becomes.
3. Cognitive Complexity
While cyclomatic complexity measures the structural complexity of code, cognitive complexity refers to how difficult it is for a developer to understand the code. Even if the cyclomatic complexity is low, a method that’s hard to follow (due to deep nesting or convoluted logic) could still have high cognitive complexity.
4. Missing Security Clauses in SOQL/SOSL Queries
Salesforce has strict security guidelines to ensure that queries are safe and don’t expose sensitive data to unauthorized users. One of the most important practices is always to use security clauses in your SOQL and SOSL queries. Salesforce Code Analyzer highlights SOQL queries that do not include security clauses, such as WITH USER_MODE or WITH SECURITY_ENFORCED.
How I Refactor Code Based on the Salesforce Code Analyzer’s Suggestions
1. Splitting Long Classes into Smaller, Focused Classes
One of the most frequent suggestions is to split long classes into smaller, more manageable ones. For example, if I have a large Apex controller class that handles both business logic and data manipulation, I'll refactor it into multiple classes with specific responsibilities:
• Main Controller: This class handles incoming requests, invokes the necessary business logic, and manages the flow.
• Helper/Service Class: This class will contain reusable methods for specific tasks (e.g., calculations and transformations).
• Utils Class: For standard utility functions that can be used across different classes.
• DataStructure Class: This class contains all wrapper classes, constants, and any custom data structures.
By separating the logic, I can reduce the size of each class and method, making the code easier to maintain and extend.
2. Reducing Cyclomatic and Cognitive Complexity
When the Salesforce Code Analyzer flags high complexity, I look for ways to break down complex methods. For example, instead of having a method with deeply nested conditionals or loops, I refactor it by introducing helper methods or simplifying the logic.
This way, each method performs a single, well-defined job, reducing the overall code complexity.
3. Adding Security Clauses to SOQL/SOSL Queries
If the Salesforce Code Analyzer flags queries missing security clauses, I immediately add the appropriate clauses to ensure my queries are secure and comply with field-level security.
Why Refactoring Matters
Regularly refactoring your code based on the feedback from Salesforce Code Analyzer ensures that your code remains:
• Maintainable: Smaller, more focused classes are easier to modify and extend.
• Readable: Code that's easy to follow will save you time when debugging or adding new features.
• Secure: By incorporating security best practices like WITH USER_MODE in your SOQL/SOSL queries, you prevent unauthorized data access.
• Efficient: Refactoring helps reduce unnecessary code and improve the overall performance of your Salesforce application.
Final Thoughts
The Salesforce Code Analyzer extension in Visual Studio Code is a powerful tool that can help you write cleaner, more maintainable, and secure Apex code. By following its suggestions to refactor large classes, reduce complexity, and add missing security clauses, you can improve the overall quality of your Salesforce projects.
I highly recommend incorporating this tool into your daily development workflow. It will not only save you time in the long run but also help you adhere to best practices, resulting in better-performing and more secure applications.