Refactoring - Organizng Data

23 Jun 2015

1. Self Encapsulated Field

You are accessing a field directly, but the coupling to the field is becoming awkward. Create getting and setting methods for the field and use only those to access the field.

2. Replace Data Value with Object

You have a data item that needs additional data or behavior. Turn the data item into an object: *1. Create the class for the value. Give it an equivalent field to the field in the source class. Add an attribute reader and a constructor that takes the field as an argument. *2. Change the attribute reader in the source class to call the reader in the new class.

3. Change Value to Reference

You have a class with many equal instances that you want to replace with a single object. Turn the object into a reference object.

4. Change Reference to Value

You have a reference object that is small, immutable, and awkward to manage. Turn it into a value object.

5. Replace Array with Object

You have an Array in which certain elements mean different things. Replace the Array with an object that has a field for each element. *1. Create a new class to represent the information in the Array. Give it a method called [] so that callers that read the Array can be changed one by one. Give it a method called []= so that callers that write to the Array can be changed one by one. *2. Construct the new object wherever the Array was instantiated.

6. Replace Hash with Object

You have a Hash that stores several different types of objects, and is passed around and used for more than one purpose. Replace the Hash with an object that has a field for each key.

*1. Create a new class to represent the information in the Hash. Give it a method called [] so that callers that read the Hash can be changed one by one. Give it a method called []= so that callers that write to the Hash can be changed one by one. *2. Construct the new object wherever the Hash was instantiated.