Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code

24May/082

Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code

My code smells bad. There is no doubt about it. As soon as I read that metaphor my head was nodding with understanding. This book is a classic, and I recommend it to anybody that wants to improve their coding habits and create more flexible applications that don't make you sad and angry.

It is a thick volume, but 2/3s of the text is the catalog of refactorings. This makes the text describing the concepts of refactoring a relatively short read. Mr Fowler guides you through the process, providing a simple example and clearly explaining the thought processes involved. The catalog covers a wide range of common approaches to refactoring an application.

The Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code by Joel Hooks, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Joel

Ordered, thanks Peter. That looks like a real solid follow-up.
Peter Bell

If you think this book is good (and it is), try Josh Kerievsky's "Refactoring to Patterns". It shows how to use the approach of refactoring to move your designs towards patterns when appropriate rather than just trying to stuff the entire GoF book into all of your apps upfront. It's very cool stuff and a great follow on from Fowlers original book.