duplication-vs-abstraction

name

duplication-vs-abstraction

description

Use when weighing whether to extract a shared abstraction, base class, interface, or generic helper versus keeping code duplicated; evaluating DRY tradeoffs across parallel Sonarr and Radarr implementations, Refit or other code-generated API clients, OpenAPI/gRPC/GraphQL DTOs, or anti-corruption layers over distinct external systems; reviewing a PR that introduces a new shared abstraction spanning independent bounded contexts; considering unwinding a wrong abstraction back into duplicated copies. Triggers on phrases like "should I abstract this", "extract a base class", "these look duplicated", "DRY this up", "unify Sonarr and Radarr", "refactor to share", "rule of three", "wrong abstraction". Do NOT use for mechanical refactors within a single type or for trivial helper extraction inside one module.

Duplication vs Abstraction

Decision framework for when code that looks the same should stay duplicated versus being unified behind a shared abstraction. Applies especially to code-generated types, multi-service adapters, and parallel implementations with shared ancestry.

Core Principles

DRY is about knowledge, not syntax. Hunt/Thomas (The Pragmatic Programmer) explicitly state the principle targets knowledge duplication. Dave Thomas (2003 Artima interview): "Most people take DRY to mean you shouldn't duplicate code. That's not the point." Two code paths that look identical but represent different domain concepts are incidentally similar, not duplicated knowledge.

Rule of Three. Two instances do not warrant abstraction (Fowler/Beck, Refactoring). Three instances provide enough data points to identify what varies and what stays the same. Abstract at three, not two.

Wrong abstraction > duplication. Sandi Metz: "Duplication is far cheaper than the wrong abstraction." The trajectory of a premature abstraction: extract, bend for new case, add conditional, repeat until incomprehensible. Existing abstractions resist removal due to sunk-cost inertia.

Decision Checklist

Ask these questions in order. Stop at the first "no."

1. Is this essential duplication? Would fixing a bug in one copy always require the same fix in the other? If they could legitimately diverge, it is incidental duplication. Keep it duplicated.

2. Do you have three or more instances? Two instances give insufficient signal about the correct abstraction shape. Wait for the third.

3. Is the abstraction's cost lower than the duplication's cost? Count: generic type parameters, indirection layers, cognitive load for new readers, coupling surface. If the abstraction requires CRTP, 4+ type parameters, or forces callers to understand complex generic constraints, the cost likely exceeds the benefit.

4. Are the types under your control? Abstracting across code-generated types, external DTOs, or types from different bounded contexts creates fragile coupling to things you do not own. Prefer abstracting over your own domain types.

Code-Generated Types

When multiple API clients produce near-identical types (OpenAPI codegen, gRPC, GraphQL):

• The structural similarity comes from shared ancestry or spec conventions, not shared domain knowledge
• Generated types will diverge on their own schedule, outside your control
• Layering interfaces on generated types (via partial classes or wrappers) creates a contract you must maintain as the generators evolve
• Preferred approach: if algorithmic logic is genuinely shared, extract it as a function operating on your own domain types, with separate per-service mappers that convert generated types to/from your domain

Anti-Corruption Layers

DDD practitioners (Evans) prescribe one ACL per external bounded context. Sharing adapter implementation across different external systems blurs the isolation boundary. Even when two external APIs look identical today, they represent different domain agreements that evolve independently.

When Shared Abstraction IS Justified

• Three or more instances with genuinely identical semantics
• The shared algorithm is complex enough that maintaining divergent copies creates real bug risk
• The abstraction operates on types you control (your domain model), not external types
• The generic surface is simple (1-2 type parameters, no CRTP)

Recovery: Unwinding a Wrong Abstraction

Per Metz and Abramov: inline first, re-extract later.

1. Copy the shared implementation back into each caller
2. Remove the abstraction (interfaces, generic utilities, base classes)
3. Let each copy evolve independently
4. If a correct abstraction emerges from three or more instances, extract then