Automating Source Code Refactoring in the Classroom
Refactoring is the practice of improving software quality without altering its external behavior. Developers intuitively refactor their code for multiple purposes, such as improving program comprehen- sion, reducing code complexity, dealing with technical debt, and removing code smells. However, no prior studies have exposed the students to an experience of the process of antipatterns detection and refactoring correction, and provided students with toolset to practice it. To understand and increase the awareness of refactor- ing concepts, in this paper, we aim to reflect on our experience with teaching refactoring and how it helps students become more aware of bad programming practices and the importance of cor- recting them via refactoring. This paper discusses the results of an experiment in the classroom that involved carrying out various refactoring activities for the purpose of removing antipatterns using JDeodorant, an Eclipse plugin that supports antipatterns detection and refactoring. The results of the qualitative analysis with 171 students show that students tend to appreciate the idea of learning refactoring and are satisfied with various aspects of the JDeodorant plugin’s operation. Through this experiment, refactoring can turn into a vital part of the computing educational plan. We envision our findings enabling educators to support students with refactoring tools tuned towards safer and trustworthy refactoring.
How to use JDeodorant?
If you are interested to learn more about the process we followed, please refer to our paper.
