Major Issues in Refactoring - Essay Example

Doing this may be impossible if the program code is difficult to understand, especially if the one to add functions to it was not the one who initially made the program.

This is where refactoring will come in handy. Refactoring is a method of altering the code of software in various ways so it can easily be understood and the cost of modifying the code will be minimal. Refactoring does not change the observable behavior of the program. All changes are done internally just to make the code more flexible and reusable. Maintaining the program’s observable behavior is crucial to refactoring. Automated testing for each aspect of the software can be done to ensure the consistency of the observable behavior of the program.

Refactoring reduces the degradation of an application over time by helping the developers easily maintain it. It is like cleaning up the program’s code. It also makes the program easier to understand in the long run. Since one of the principles of refactoring is for it to be done in small steps, it can help the developer find bugs after testing each small step. And since you can easily find bugs, the time spent fixing them would be lesser. Thus, it will allow for more additional features to be added to the program.

Refactoring, however, may not apply to all program codes. If a code seems to be a total mess, really difficult to understand, and has a lot of bugs, then it might be better to rewrite the whole thing than just refactoring it. Also, when the work needs to be done by a certain deadline, refactoring may not be a good option because the benefits and productivity gain of refactoring may only come up long after the deadline has passed.

Also, refactoring should always be done carefully keeping all possible problems in mind. If a failure occurs with refactoring in a working system, it may cause severe damage to the program. Thus, the principles of refactoring – doing small steps, performing unit tests, applying changes predictably, not restructuring, and adding new features at the same time – should always be followed to avoid serious consequences.