Squint Test

general

I was watching a video by Jeffrey Way on Laracasts and he mentioned something called the “Squint Test“. That’s right…squint test?!

I’d never heard about this before but he described it as a refactoring method which basically works like this.

You look at your code project, squint your eyes by 20% and then try to see any lines which are:

  • Too long
  • Too dense or,
  • Too wide

If you find any, you tweak them to improve them.

I did a quick Google and was able to find one more reference here by Jeff Gothelf in 2011, which used the same technique but for the visual design of web pages. The aim in that case was that by squinting, you would see your page as a new user might, and then, could get a feel for the visual hierarchy.

Anyway, don’t do this whilst driving but consider giving it a try.

Hi! Did you find this useful or interesting? I have an email list coming soon, but in the meantime, if you ready anything you fancy chatting about, I would love to hear from you. You can contact me here or at stephen ‘at’ logicalmoon.com