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| <mainDescription><p>
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| Refactoring is a disciplined way to restructure code when small changes are made to the code to improve its design. An
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| important aspect of a refactoring is that it improves the design while not changing the behavior of the design; a
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| refactoring neither adds nor removes functionality.
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| </p>
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| <p>
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| Refactoring enables you to evolve the code slowly over time, to take an iterative and incremental approach to
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| implementation.
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| </p>
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| <p>
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| These are the types of refactoring:
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| </p>
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| <ol>
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| <li>
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| Code refactoring. Often referred to simply as refactoring, this is the refactoring of programming source code.
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| Examples of code refactorings include Rename Method, Encapsulate Field, Extract Class, Introduce Assertion, and
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| Pushdown Method.
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| </li>
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| <li>
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| Database refactoring. A database refactoring is a simple change to a database schema that improves its design while
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| retaining both its behavioral and informational semantics. Examples of database refactorings include Rename Column,
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| Split Table, Move Method to Database, Replace LOB with Table, Introduce Column Constraint, and Use Official Data
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| Source.
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| </li>
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| <li>
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| User interface (UI) refactoring. A UI refactoring is a simple change to the UI which retains its semantics.
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| Examples of UI refactorings include Align Entry Fields, Apply Common Button Size, Apply Common Font, Indicate
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| Format, Reword in Active Voice, and Increase Color Contrast.
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| </li>
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| </ol>
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| <p>
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| Martin Fowler [<a class="elementLinkWithUserText"
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| href="./../../../core.tech.common.base/guidances/supportingmaterials/references.tech_6CCF393.html#FOW99"
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| guid="_9ToeIB83Edqsvps02rpOOg">FOW99</a>] identifies four key reasons to refactor:
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| </p>
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| <ul>
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| <li>
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| Refactoring improves the design of software.
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| </li>
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| <li>
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| Refactoring makes software easier to understand.
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| </li>
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| <li>
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| Refactoring helps you find bugs.
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| </li>
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| <li>
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| Refactoring helps you program faster.
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| </li>
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| </ul>
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| <p>
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| Refactoring can improve the design of existing code, but it does not take the place of considering the design before
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| writing code. Refactoring instead changes the role of up-front design, allowing the strictly design work to be more
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| abstract. Small-scale, very tactical decisions can be made during the implementation of the solution with confidence
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| that refactoring will ensure a quality implementation at that level. The designing of the solution before
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| implementation will be more lightweight and focused on broad factors that will drive the implementation.
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| </p>
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| <p>
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| There is an additional benefit of refactoring: it changes the way a developer thinks about the implementation when not
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| refactoring. The basic task of implementing a solution becomes solely about getting the solution to pass its developer
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| tests in the simplest way possible. Then the design of that solution can be examined and refactored separately. Even if
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| these two things -- implementation of the solution and then improvement -- are just a minute apart, it can be freeing
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| for a developer to single-mindedly create code that causes a test to pass, and then separately single-mindedly improve
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| that code.
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| </p>
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| <p>
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| These are some additional resources:
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| </p>
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| <ul>
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| <li>
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| <a href="http://www.refactoring.com/" target="_blank"><u><font
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| color="#0000ff">http://www.refactoring.com/</font></u></a>
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| </li>
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| <li>
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| <a href="http://www.agiledata.org/essays/databaseRefactoring.html"><u><font
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| color="#0000ff">http://www.agiledata.org/essays/databaseRefactoring.html</font></u></a>
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| </li>
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| </ul></mainDescription> |
| </org.eclipse.epf.uma:ContentDescription> |
