What Is Code Refactoring?

The refactoring of code is performed rather often during the process of software development. It is executed in order to improve the code without changing the functional characteristics of the system.

The code refactoring provides better and easier understanding of the product logic. It simplifies the lives of all participants of the software development procedure.

Web application testing, desktop testing and mobile testing prove that the refactoring of code helps to enhance the architecture of software products and to fix the irreproducible errors or to prevent the bugs introducing.

Code Refactoring Should Not Be Mixed Up With:

  • re-engineering of software products. It is the changing in design or structure of a system or an application by adding new features or bugs fixing. Re-engineering provides serious changes of software products behavior, architecture and functioning.
  • performance optimizing. This process presupposes the improvement of software product capability. It provides its quicker implementation using less memory. As well as code refactoring, the optimization of product performance does not change its functions.

It is recommended to perform automated testing after code refactoring. It makes the checking procedure be faster and easier. Automated tests give the immediate feedback about the work of modified code.

But it is rather difficult to create automated test for executing functional testing or performance testing. Sometimes, it is better not to apply the principle of automation. Moreover, autotests are software products too, and their code should also be refactored. The majority of autotests are checked in a manual way.

Source: QATestLab