Toggle is a term used in software, computing, programming and other technical fields to describe a switch that can be flipped between two states or options. Toggles are often applied to user interfaces such as switches on physical devices and on digital screens, allowing users to easily select different settings and modes.
Toggles are also a common feature in responsive design, providing a way to hide or reveal content depending on device and screen size. In addition to providing flexibility for different situations, toggles help designers avoid creating cognitive burdens by reducing the number of choices and options displayed.
In the context of web development, toggles are often implemented using HTML
Although not as universally compatible as form submissions, toggles are simple and easy to implement for most developers, making them a popular choice. However, they do have some drawbacks. For example, they can be difficult to navigate for users with accessibility needs, and can cause confusion if they aren’t labeled properly. Additionally, they can be difficult to manage if you’re using multiple toggles for a single page.
Toggle switches must be carefully designed to provide clear cues for state changes. This means ensuring the visual element matches the label and using high-contrast colors to differentiate states. It’s also important to consider cultural and societal implications when selecting these cues. For instance, some cultures associate the color red with danger and may confuse it with the on position.
A toggle is a Boolean variable that has two possible states: on and off. The toggle state is determined by a number of factors, including fitness test results from other features in the codebase, a setting in your feature management system or a variable provided by a config file.
The best practice for managing feature toggles is to keep the inventory as low as possible and prune idle ones as soon as they’ve run their course. This reduces the amount of work required to maintain the codebase and prevents old toggles from interfering with future releases. In addition, it’s a good idea to include a toggle pruning step in your deployment cycle to ensure all toggles are flipped Off before being removed from production.
In addition to testing the current production toggle configuration it’s usually wise to test the toggle configuration that will be released with a new release flipped On. This helps to avoid any surprise regressions when a new release rolls out and can also help you test your fallback configuration where existing or legacy behavior is enabled.
While the toggle-based approach is relatively straightforward and effective many teams are using more advanced approaches to manage their feature flags. These can range from techniques that are simpler but less dynamic through to some which introduce significant complexity into the codebase. This extra complexity can lead to issues with integration with CI/CD systems and can increase the time to validate a new release, negatively impacting your all-important feedback loop.
