90% code reduction through SOLID principles and a reflection-based framework

The Problem

A law firm had a legacy technology stack spanning VB6, Silverlight, WPF, and ASP.NET MVC. The most significant issue: pervasive code duplication.

The Duplication Pattern

Database access code was copy-pasted throughout:

• 6-8 lines repeated for each property retrieval
• Hardcoded string references to property names
• Individual database connections opened for every single query
• 10+ interactions scattered across the codebase for a single task

This wasn't just inefficient - it was unmaintainable. Any change to database access patterns required updating dozens of locations.

Our Approach

We built a reflection-based database access framework from scratch.

Framework Design

• Dictionary-like property access: Establishing a context on entry, then accessing properties via generated const strings
• nameof() pattern: Type-safe property references eliminating hardcoded strings
• Centralised connection management: Single point of database access control
• Repository pattern: Clean separation of data access concerns

Application

Applied the framework alongside repository patterns to demonstrate measurable impact on a specific legacy library.

Additional Cleanup

Also identified duplicated authorisation logic across the Silverlight component ecosystem and began developing shared packages to centralise these concerns.

Outcomes

Code Reduction

• Database interactions reduced from 5-8 lines to single line
• Class sizes reduced from 4,000 lines to 400 lines in the target library
• 90% reduction in code volume

Maintainability

• Single point of change for database access patterns
• Type-safe property references eliminating runtime errors
• Clear separation of concerns through repository pattern

Foundation for Future

• Shared authorisation packages eliminating cross-application duplication
• Framework approach applicable to other areas of the codebase
• Pattern demonstrating measurable ROI of clean code practices

Lesson Learned

This engagement demonstrated that clean code practices deliver measurable, demonstrable results. The 90% reduction wasn't abstract quality improvement - it was concrete, countable improvement in maintainability and developer productivity.