C++ Coding Standards: 101 Rules, Guidelines, and Best Practices

33. Prefer minimal classes to monolithic classes

Summary

Divide and conquer: Small classes are easier to write, get right, test, and use. They are also more likely to be usable in a variety of situations. Prefer such small classes that embody simple concepts instead of kitchen-sink classes that try to implement many and/or complex concepts (see Items 5 and 6).

Discussion

Designing fancy large classes is a typical mistake when starting object-oriented design. The prospect of having a class that offers complete and complex functionality in one shot can be quite alluring. However, designing smaller, minimal classes that can be easily combined is an approach that is more successful in practice for systems of any size, for many reasons:

• A minimal ...