Refactoring Day 7 : Rename (method, class, parameter)
This refactoring I use most often and is one of the most useful refactoring. All too often we do not name methods/classes/parameters properly that leads to a misunderstanding as to what the method/class/parameter’s function is. When this occurs, assumptions are made and bugs are introduced to the system. As simple of a refactoring this seems, it is one of the most important to leverage.
1: public class Person
<pre><span class="lnum"> 2:</span> {</pre>
<pre><span class="lnum"> 3:</span> <span class="kwrd">public</span> <span class="kwrd">string</span> FN { get; set; }</pre>
<pre><span class="lnum"> 4:</span> </pre>
<pre><span class="lnum"> 5:</span> <span class="kwrd">public</span> <span class="kwrd">decimal</span> ClcHrlyPR()</pre>
<pre><span class="lnum"> 6:</span> {</pre>
<pre><span class="lnum"> 7:</span> <span class="rem">// code to calculate hourly payrate</span></pre>
<pre><span class="lnum"> 8:</span> <span class="kwrd">return</span> 0m;</pre>
<pre><span class="lnum"> 9:</span> }</pre>
<pre><span class="lnum"> 10:</span> }</pre>
As you can see here, we have a class/method/parameter that all have very non-descriptive, obscure names. They can be interpreted in a number of different ways. Applying this refactoring is as simple as renaming the items at hand to be more descriptive and convey what exactly they do. Simple enough.
1: // Changed the class name to Employee
<pre><span class="lnum"> 2:</span> <span class="kwrd">public</span> <span class="kwrd">class</span> Employee</pre>
<pre><span class="lnum"> 3:</span> {</pre>
<pre><span class="lnum"> 4:</span> <span class="kwrd">public</span> <span class="kwrd">string</span> FirstName { get; set; }</pre>
<pre><span class="lnum"> 5:</span> </pre>
<pre><span class="lnum"> 6:</span> <span class="kwrd">public</span> <span class="kwrd">decimal</span> CalculateHourlyPay()</pre>
<pre><span class="lnum"> 7:</span> {</pre>
<pre><span class="lnum"> 8:</span> <span class="rem">// code to calculate hourly payrate</span></pre>
<pre><span class="lnum"> 9:</span> <span class="kwrd">return</span> 0m;</pre>
<pre><span class="lnum"> 10:</span> }</pre>
<pre><span class="lnum"> 11:</span> }</pre>
This refactoring was originally published by Martin Fowler and can be found here
This is part of the 31 Days of Refactoring series. For a full list of Refactorings please see the original introductory post.