C# 2.0 Code Refactoring

he next version of C# will feature a code refactoring engine built into the Visual Studio environment. A term coined by Martin Fowler, code refactoring allows you to change the code structure without changing or affecting what the code itself actually does. For example, changing a variable name or packaging a few lines of code into a method are code refactoring. The main difference between C# 2.0 refactoring and a mere edit or find-and-replace is that you can harness the intelligence of the compiler to distinguish between code and comments, and so on. This article provides a preview of Visual C# 2.0 code refactoring by first discussing refactoring in general, then providing an overview of Visual C# 2.0 refactoring by walking though the various options and discussing their use and benefits.

Perhaps the single most important contributor to the long term maintainability of an application is how well laid-out and structured the code base is. Elements such as proper variable names, naming conventions, a consistent look and feel to statements, code format, and style enable readability by any developer, not just the one who wrote the code. Member variables encapsulation decouples clients from servers. Cohesive interface definitions enables interface reuse in other contexts. Allocation of interfaces to components is key to modular development and reuse. Eliminating blocks of repeated code by factoring it into a method increase quality because you only need to fix a defect in a single place.