JavaScript Refactoring Combo: Convert conditional initialization with if-else into conditional expression

This post is about combining refactorings with the P42 JavaScript Assistant v1.99.

If-statements are often used to initialize variables with different values depending on a condition. This can lead to unnecessary code duplication and can often be shortened with the conditional operator.

Before

let movedObject;if (direction === "left") {  movedObject = moveLeft(original);} else {  movedObject = moveRight(original);}

After

const movedObject = direction === "left"  ? moveLeft(original)  : moveRight(original);

The change to const is only possible if the variable is not re-assigned later. It has the advantage that it communicates the immutability of movedObject.

Refactoring Steps

1. Convert the if-else statement into a conditional expression
2. Merge variable declaration and initialization
3. Convert let to const

Refactoring Example