Archive for the ‘ Refactoring ’ Category

Macros: You Oughta Know

One of the most useful tools available in any decent text editor is the macro recorder, but it’s criminally underused. It seems most people either don’t know the functionality exists, or simply ignore it. This is a shame, since it’s a great timesaver. I don’t know why macros are so underused. It might be a mindset [ READ MORE ]

Test-specific Shims in Production Code

We’re currently on a fairly major kick to increase automated test coverage of our software. This doesn’t just mean ‘get the unit test coverage up to scratch’, it also means we are working towards full end-to-end integration testing using, amongst other tools, some front-end automation tools such as QTP and Selenium. Of course, nothing is ever [ READ MORE ]

The P.G. Wodehouse Method Of Refactoring

I am much given to ruminating on refactoring at the moment, as one of my current projects is a major overhaul of a fairly large (>31,000 lines) application which has exactly the kind of dotted history any experienced developer has learned to fear – written by many different people, including short-term contractors, at a time [ READ MORE ]

Legacy Code, Refactoring, and Ownership

Refactoring is good. Everyone knows that. Since Fowler popularised the concept with the seminal Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code it’s become a staple of the industry, and has pride of place on many a bookshelf. In the many, many articles and discussions of the subject, the key goals and benefits of refactoring are [ READ MORE ]