A toggle is a switch that can be pressed to change its state (usually between on and off). It’s commonly used in technology, computing, programming, and communications devices as a way to turn features on or off or between different display modes.
In software development, toggles are a feature-level configuration option that allows developers to make parts of the application hidden or visible, depending on the device being used. They are an important tool in the responsive design toolkit and help provide a smoother experience for users as they switch between display modes.
There are a number of ways to implement toggles in code ranging from a simple comment through to more sophisticated methods that use preprocessor flags or a mix of #ifdef and code comments. Whichever method is chosen, it’s important to keep in mind that any toggles added to the codebase will have an associated carrying cost. This is especially true for the more complicated toggles that might have a lot of conditions that must be satisfied, or that span multiple code paths. It’s also critical to ensure that teams have a process for removing these toggles from the codebase as soon as they are no longer needed. Leaving old toggles in place can be confusing for other teams and create a mess that takes weeks or even months to resolve.
The best practice is to keep the inventory of active toggles low. Ideally, the team should only deploy a toggle when they know that it will be necessary to complete the work they’re working on. Then, once the feature has been deployed and tested they should be aggressive in pruning it from their codebase as soon as it becomes clear that it isn’t needed any more. This can be done by adding a toggle removal task to the team’s backlog or by building the process into their management platform.
It’s important to use toggles only when they are needed and to clearly communicate their current state in the user interface. For example, toggles should be labelled with direct text that describes what will happen when the toggle is pressed. Using visual cues like movement and color can also help avoid confusion and provide an additional layer of feedback.
Using toggles effectively can be a great way to enable or disable parts of an application, and to control the visibility of content. This helps ensure that the content is always relevant and accessible to as many people as possible. This article is available to Grandmaster subscribers or higher. Upgrade your subscription here.
