Refactoring for Software Design Smells

Chapter 7

The Smell Ecosystem

Abstract

This chapter discusses some interesting characteristics about design smells. If the design were to be considered as an ecosystem in which design decisions and smells coreside, it can be perceived that smells both influence and are influenced by their ecosystem. This chapter focuses on the smell ecosystem and reflects on the role of context in the identification and treatment of smells; how smells impact and interact with other smells in the design; and how smells tend to indicate deeper problems (such as architectural smells) in the design.

Keywords

Architecture smells; Co-occurring smells; Precursor smells; Smell ecosystem; The interplay of smells; The role of context

Our study of design smells has revealed some ...