I'm reviewing the scrape_case_broward async function that scrapes case information from what appears to be the Broward County court system's website. The function handles browser automation, data extraction, and file management.
| Category | Rating (1-10) | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Readability | 7 | Good logging and structure, but some complex nested blocks |
| Testability | 4 | Difficult to test due to complex external dependencies |
| Maintainability | 6 | Well-organized but contains fragile browser automation |
| Complexity | 4 (High) | Multiple nested try/except blocks and browser manipulation |
- Comprehensive logging: Excellent use of detailed logging with emoji prefixes for visibility.
- Progress tracking: Maintains a progress dictionary to track the state of the operation.
- Error handling: Multiple layers of error handling with specific exception types.
- Cancellation checks: Regular checks for cancellation requests.
- Retry mechanisms: Implements retries for browser launch and dispositions scraping.
- Well-structured directory management: Creates appropriate directories for downloaded files.
- Detailed statistics: Provides comprehensive statistics upon completion.
The function relies heavily on Playwright for browser automation, which is inherently fragile. Site structure changes could break the scraper.
browser, context, page = await launch_browser(p, county="broward")There are multiple levels of nested try/except blocks, making the code flow difficult to follow:
try:
async with async_playwright() as p:
# ...
try:
try:
# ...
except Exception as e:
# ...
try:
# ...
except Exception as e:
# ...
finally:
# ...
except asyncio.CancelledError:
# ...
finally:
# ...The function handles multiple concerns:
- Browser management
- Cancellation checks
- Scraping operation
- File downloading
- Statistics tracking
- Metadata management
Several magic numbers and strings are hard-coded:
await asyncio.sleep(2) # Hard-coded sleep duration
max_browser_launch_attempts = 3 # Hard-coded retry count
await page.goto("https://httpbin.org/ip", timeout=10000) # Hard-coded timeoutThere's a use of synchronous time.sleep() in an async function:
time.sleep(1)This blocks the event loop and should be replaced with await asyncio.sleep(1).
Some error handling is duplicated across different sections of the code.
The function lacks docstring documentation explaining parameters, return values, and exceptions.
The function relies on several undefined external functions:
check_cancellationcheck_cancellation_fileget_download_pathensure_directorylaunch_browseris_proxy_enabledscrape_case_inforeload_case_detail_viewscrape_dispositionsscrape_eventssave_metadata_json
This creates implicit dependencies that make the code harder to understand and test.
In some cases, exceptions are caught and re-raised with a new message, losing the original traceback:
except Exception as e:
logger.error(f"❌ [BROWARD] Failed to scrape case info for {case_number}: {e}")
raise Exception(f"ScrapeCaseInfoError: Failed for {case_number}") from eAt least the code does use from e to preserve the cause, which is good.
Despite using type hints for parameters, internal variables often lack proper typing:
downloaded_files: list[str] = []
# But later:
progress["downloaded_files"] += len(dispo_results) # No clear type for dispo_results-
Refactor into smaller functions: Break down the large function into smaller, focused functions:
- Browser management
- Scraping operations for each section
- Progress tracking
- Result compilation
-
Use dependency injection: Pass dependencies like browser instances as parameters to make testing easier.
-
Implement proper cancellation: Use
asyncio.CancelledErrorpropagation instead of explicit checks. -
Add comprehensive type annotations: Improve type safety throughout the code.
-
Create custom exception classes: Define specific exception types instead of generic exceptions with string prefixes.
-
Move constants to configuration: Extract hard-coded values to configuration.
-
Add proper documentation: Add detailed docstrings for all functions.
-
Use asyncio.gather: For parallel operations where appropriate.
-
Replace synchronous operations: Replace all synchronous operations with async equivalents.
-
Add unit tests: Create mocks for external dependencies to enable isolated testing.
This code is fixable, but requires significant refactoring. The core logic is sound, but the implementation needs to be restructured for better maintainability and testability.
Estimated time to refactor:
- 2-3 days for an engineer familiar with the codebase
- 4-5 days for an engineer new to the codebase
The refactoring should be done in phases:
- Add documentation and type annotations (1 day)
- Extract smaller functions (1-2 days)
- Implement proper error handling and cancellation (1 day)
- Add unit tests (1-2 days)
The scrape_case_broward function is a comprehensive solution for scraping case data, with good logging and error handling. However, it suffers from high complexity, mixed concerns, and fragile dependencies. With proper refactoring, it could become much more maintainable and testable while preserving its current functionality.
Would you like me to elaborate on any particular aspect of this review or provide more specific refactoring examples for certain parts of the code?
