Exploring Extreme Programming
Our “geek” group tackled a problem a couple weeks ago, that one of us had heard suggested by Michael Feathers: given a sequence of numbers, tell how many non-zero runs it has. Ron Jeffries described a procedural implementation; we’ll look Continue reading TDD with a Function Pipeline
Sometimes, we feel that something we extracted isn’t as good as it could be. The Inline-Adjust-Extract refactoring pattern can help fix that. It has three steps: In a sense, this pattern is the opposite of the Isolate-Improve-Inline pattern. That tactic Continue reading Refactor: Inline-Adjust-Extract
When A depends on B (A → B), a change in B may force A to change as well. Dependencies are both good and bad: they let objects work together, but they make software harder to change. We can use Continue reading Reduce Dependencies Using Lambda
Some exception-handling code peels apart exceptions to figure out how to handle them. This is a missed opportunity for more direct code. The Simple Case: Type-Tested Exceptions Sometimes we see handler code like this: catch (Exception e) { // possible Continue reading Refactoring Undifferentiated Exceptions
Extracting a local lambda turns a block of code into an anonymous inline function. Motivation A local lambda can isolate code for improvement (the Isolate-Improve-Inline pattern – see References), or be the first step in using a lambda another way. Continue reading Refactoring: Extract Local Lambda
Sometimes, when you try to break up a long method, you run into a problem: you have to pass a bunch of local variables into the new method, some of which are both input and output. One solution is the Continue reading Refactoring: Replace Method with Method Object
A one-page summary of Refactoring is available in PDF. Refactoring is…? Changing the design of existing code without changing its observable behavior (per Martin Fowler). These changes include renaming, reducing duplication, rearranging code, and more. Even large refactorings are built Continue reading Refactoring, a Whole-Team Guide
Here are the the articles and videos I made last year. Key topics: user stories, refactoring, TDD, functional languages, and design. I’ve grouped them into these areas: My favorites: Want More?Have you found these articles useful or want more? * Continue reading 2021 Articles in Review
Loop unrolling is a performance optimization where you repeat the inside of a loop to reduce the looping overhead. It’s also a way to get rid of loops, and we’ll look at an example from a test. While ⇒ If-While Continue reading Loop Unrolling: While ⇒ If-While
Refactoring improves the design of code without changing its observable behavior. But what is observable behavior? We’ll look at how language semantics affect that. When you devise new refactorings, you have to take semantics into account. The Simple View is Continue reading Refactoring and Programming Language Semantics