Refactoring is an essential part of the software development lifecycle. It involves restructuring existing computer code—changing the factoring—without changing its external behavior.
Why Refactor?
- maintainability: Clean code is easier to understand and modify.
- Extensibility: Identify patterns and abstractions that make it easier to add new features.
- Bug Reduction: Cleaning up code often reveals hidden bugs.
When to Refactor?
- Rule of Three: When you do something for the third time, refactor.
- Code Smells: When you notice “smells” like large classes, long methods, or duplicated code.
- Before Adding Features: Make it easier to add the feature by cleaning up the code first.
Refactoring requires a good suite of automated tests to ensure that you haven’t broken anything while cleaning up. Happy coding!
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