Identifying and Refactoring Code Smells in Elixir

Elaine Watanabe's talk at Code BEAM Europe 2023 focuses on identifying and addressing code smells in Elixir, a functional programming language. She explains that while traditional code smells have been widely studied in object-oriented programming, their application in functional languages like Elixir is still emerging. Elaine starts by defining code smells as design choices that can degrade code quality and maintainability. She discusses traditional code smells, such as duplicated code and long parameter lists, and elaborates on Elixir-specific code smells identified through a research project led by Brazilian professors and involving the Elixir community. Elaine provides examples of code smells and suggests refactoring techniques using pattern matching and other Elixir-specific features. The talk also highlights the importance of community involvement in enhancing Elixir's ecosystem, particularly in documenting and automating the identification of code smells and refactoring techniques.