defmodule Credence.Rule.NoDestructureReconstruct do @moduledoc """ Detects patterns where a list is destructured into individual variables and then immediately reassembled into the same list. ## Why this matters LLMs destructure lists element-by-element because they think in terms of individual values, then reconstruct the list to pass to an Enum function. The reader sees named variables and expects them to be used individually, only to discover they're re-wrapped: # Flagged — destructure then reconstruct case String.split(ip, ".") do [p1, p2, p3, p4] -> Enum.all?([p1, p2, p3, p4], &valid_octet?/1) end # Idiomatic — bind as a whole, pattern match for length case String.split(ip, ".") do [_, _, _, _] = parts -> Enum.all?(parts, &valid_octet?/1) end ## Flagged patterns A list pattern `[a, b, c, ...]` in a `case` branch or function head where the body contains a list literal `[a, b, c, ...]` with the exact same variables in the same order. Only flagged when the pattern contains 2 or more simple variables (not literals, patterns, or underscore-prefixed names). ## Severity `:info` """ @behaviour Credence.Rule alias Credence.Issue @impl true def check(ast, _opts) do {_ast, issues} = Macro.prewalk(ast, [], fn node, issues -> case check_node(node) do {:ok, new_issues} -> {node, new_issues ++ issues} :error -> {node, issues} end end) Enum.reverse(issues) end # ------------------------------------------------------------ # NODE MATCHING # ------------------------------------------------------------ # case expr do [a, b, c] -> body; ... end defp check_node({:case, _meta, [_expr, [do: clauses]]}) when is_list(clauses) do issues = Enum.flat_map(clauses, fn {:->, meta, [[pattern], body]} -> check_pattern_body(pattern, body, meta) _ -> [] end) if issues == [], do: :error, else: {:ok, issues} end # def/defp foo([a, b, c]), do: body (unguarded) # Must come after guarded to avoid :when swallowing defp check_node({def_type, _meta, [{:when, _, [{_fn_name, _, args}, _guard]}, body]}) when def_type in [:def, :defp] and is_list(args) do issues = args |> Enum.flat_map(fn arg -> check_pattern_body(arg, body, []) end) if issues == [], do: :error, else: {:ok, issues} end defp check_node({def_type, _meta, [{_fn_name, _, args}, body]}) when def_type in [:def, :defp] and is_list(args) do issues = args |> Enum.flat_map(fn arg -> check_pattern_body(arg, body, []) end) if issues == [], do: :error, else: {:ok, issues} end defp check_node(_), do: :error # ------------------------------------------------------------ # PATTERN/BODY ANALYSIS # ------------------------------------------------------------ defp check_pattern_body(pattern, body, meta) do case extract_var_list(pattern) do {:ok, var_names} when length(var_names) >= 2 -> if body_contains_same_list?(body, var_names) do [build_issue(var_names, meta)] else [] end _ -> [] end end # ------------------------------------------------------------ # PATTERN EXTRACTION # # Only matches a flat list of simple, non-underscore variables. # Returns :error if any element is a literal, pattern, or # underscore-prefixed name. # ------------------------------------------------------------ defp extract_var_list(elements) when is_list(elements) do names = Enum.map(elements, fn {name, _, ctx} when is_atom(name) and is_atom(ctx) -> str = Atom.to_string(name) if String.starts_with?(str, "_"), do: :skip, else: name _ -> :skip end) if Enum.any?(names, &(&1 == :skip)) do :error else {:ok, names} end end defp extract_var_list(_), do: :error # ------------------------------------------------------------ # BODY INSPECTION # # Walk the body AST looking for a list literal that contains # the exact same variables in the exact same order. # ------------------------------------------------------------ defp body_contains_same_list?(body, target_var_names) do {_, found} = Macro.prewalk(body, false, fn node, true -> {node, true} elements, false when is_list(elements) -> case extract_var_list(elements) do {:ok, ^target_var_names} -> {elements, true} _ -> {elements, false} end node, false -> {node, false} end) found end # ------------------------------------------------------------ # MESSAGE GENERATION # ------------------------------------------------------------ defp build_issue(var_names, meta) do vars_str = Enum.map_join(var_names, ", ", &to_string/1) count = length(var_names) %Issue{ rule: :no_destructure_reconstruct, severity: :info, message: """ List `[#{vars_str}]` is destructured and then reassembled \ into the same list. Bind the list as a whole and pattern match for length: [#{"_ , " |> String.duplicate(count - 1)}_ ] = parts """, meta: %{line: Keyword.get(meta, :line)} } end end