Duplicate Code: Identical EmptyCard and InitialCard Widgets

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Summary

The EmptyCard and InitialCard widgets are functionally identical - both render empty centered columns with the same implementation. This is a 100% code duplication that should be consolidated into a single reusable component.

Duplication Details

Pattern: Identical Widget Implementations

• Severity: High
• Occurrences: 2 instances
• Locations:
  • lib/ui/widgets/empty_card.dart:3-17
  • lib/ui/widgets/initial_card.dart:3-17

Code Sample:

// empty_card.dart
class EmptyCard extends StatelessWidget {
  const EmptyCard({
    Key? key,
  }) : super(key: key);

  `@override`
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Center(
      child: Column(
        mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
        children: const [],
      ),
    );
  }
}

// initial_card.dart - IDENTICAL except class name
class InitialCard extends StatelessWidget {
  const InitialCard({
    Key? key,
  }) : super(key: key);

  `@override`
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Center(
      child: Column(
        mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
        children: const [],
      ),
    );
  }
}

Impact Analysis

• Maintainability: Any changes to the empty state UI must be duplicated across both files, increasing the risk of inconsistencies
• Bug Risk: If one widget is updated but not the other, the app will have inconsistent empty state behavior
• Code Bloat: 17 lines of unnecessary duplicate code

Refactoring Recommendations

Option 1: Single Widget with Type Parameter (Recommended)

Extract to a single PlaceholderCard widget with a parameter to distinguish between states:

class PlaceholderCard extends StatelessWidget {
  final PlaceholderType type;
  
  const PlaceholderCard({
    Key? key,
    this.type = PlaceholderType.empty,
  }) : super(key: key);

  `@override`
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Center(
      child: Column(
        mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
        children: const [],
      ),
    );
  }
}

enum PlaceholderType { empty, initial }

Option 2: Named Constructors

Use a single widget with named constructors:

class PlaceholderCard extends StatelessWidget {
  const PlaceholderCard({Key? key}) : super(key: key);
  
  const PlaceholderCard.empty({Key? key}) : super(key: key);
  const PlaceholderCard.initial({Key? key}) : super(key: key);

  `@override`
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Center(
      child: Column(
        mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
        children: const [],
      ),
    );
  }
}

Option 3: Type Aliases

If the widgets truly need to remain separate for semantic reasons, use type aliases:

typedef EmptyCard = PlaceholderCard;
typedef InitialCard = PlaceholderCard;

Implementation Checklist

• Review current usage of EmptyCard and InitialCard to determine if they need different behavior
• Choose refactoring approach (Option 1 recommended)
• Create unified PlaceholderCard widget
• Update all references to EmptyCard and InitialCard
• Remove duplicate widget files
• Update widget exports in lib/ui/widgets/widgets.dart
• Run tests to verify no functionality broken

Analysis Metadata

• Analyzed Files: 25 Dart files
• Detection Method: Semantic code analysis
• Commit: eaf30ea
• Analysis Date: 2026-02-18
• Duplication Size: 17 lines (100% match)

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