Lightweight detection of program refactorings

Abstract

Poorly structured code is hard to maintain and read. Program refactoring can improve code structure and thus make it easier to preserve and to discern the underlying design. However, refactoring is a difficult and time-consuming process making it unattractive for many developers. An automated tool that could identify poorly structured code and make suggestions would make the refactoring process easier. Although in general refactorings may be quite difficult to locate automatically, we show that many can be detected using low-cost, syntactic techniques. We have built a tool to locate refactorings in C# programs. Our experiments indicate that the tool has an excellent success rate in identifying refactorings.