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Refactoring

Introduction

'Improving the design of existing code.'

Why

  • Refactoring improves the design of software
  • Refactoring makes software easier to understand
  • Refactoring helps find bugs
  • Refactoring helps program faster (from a long term perspective)

What

  • Refactoring (noun): a change made to the internal structure of software to make it easier to understand and cheaper to modify without changing its observable behavior.
  • Refactoring (verb): to restructure software by applying a series of refactorings without changing its observable behavior.

When

The Rule of Three: Three strikes, then you refactor

When to Refactor

  • Opportunistic refactoring

    • Preparatory refactoring: Making it easier to add a feature
    • Comprehension refactoring: Making the code easier to understand
    • Litter-Pickup refactoring

  • Planned refactoring

    • Long-Term refactoring
    • Refactoring during code reviews

When Not to Refactor

  • No need to modify it
  • It's easier to rewrite it

How

The Two Hats: Switch between adding functionality and refactoring

  1. Find Bad Smells in Code
  2. Apply Refactoring Techniques

References