CSC/ECE 517 Fall 2014/ch1a 11 ap

Introduction: Automated Refactoring Techniques for AppCode.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_on_Rails</ref>

AppCode is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for Objective-C,C, C++, and JavaScript development built on JetBrains’ IntelliJ IDEA platform, which is built on Java. Users can extend its abilities by either installing plug-ins created for IntelliJ Platform, or they can write their own plug-ins.

Code refactoring is the process of restructuring existing computer code – changing the factoring – without changing its external behavior. Many a times, we face the need to change the name of a variable in our code- mostly because we find another one better suited for its functionality. Doing this manually can be time consuming & often leads to many mistakes. That is why, many new IDEs (Integrated Development Environments) come with inbuilt functions for refactoring. As you read further, you will know that refactoring is not limited to changing variable name. There are many things IDEs allow programmers to do to edit their code. These changes are not logical, in the sense that they do not make any change to functionality or behavior of the program; but are needed to improve code in terms of understanding & user friendliness.

Background

"By continuously improving the design of code, we make it easier and easier to work with. This is in sharp contrast to what typically happens: little refactoring and a great deal of attention paid to expediently adding new features. If you get into the hygienic habit of refactoring continuously, you'll find that it is easier to extend and maintain code." —Joshua Kerievsky, Refactoring to Patterns

Refactoring improves nonfunctional attributes of the software. Advantages include improved code readability and reduced complexity to improve source code maintainability, and create a more expressive internal architecture or object model to improve extensibility. To help programmers easily improve code design as it evolves over time, AppCode provides a solid set of reliable code refactorings. These include vital ones like Rename, Extract Method, Introduce Variable and Inline, as well as more powerful ones, e.g. Extract Block Parameter/Protocol/Category/Superclass, Change Signature, Convert Method to Function and back, Pull Members Up/Push Members Down, and others. First public preview version of AppCode became available in April 2011. The latest stable release is version 3.0 and is available at JetBrains’ official web site.