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Developer Argues Extracting Functions Tames Messy Legacy Code

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A developer recounts struggling with a 2,300-line legacy function, processOrder.js, that mixed validation, discounts, tax, inventory and notifications. A double-charging bug caused by stacked discount logic prompted a search for a better approach. The author proposes extracting cohesive logic into well-named functions, which improves readability, makes units easier to test, and keeps changes localized. The article walks through a simplified version of the original function to show how the tangled concerns and the double-counted promo discount arose.

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