Automated refactorings may change the program behavior. We propose an approach and its
implementation called SafeRefactor for making program refactoring safer. We applied 10 …

Manual refactoring edits are error prone, as refactoring requires developers to coordinate
related transformations and understand the complex inter-relationship between affected …

Refactoring is the process of changing the structure of code without changing its behavior.
Refactoring can be semi-automated with tools, which should make it easier for programmers …

Refactoring, the practice of applying behavior-preserving changes to existing code, can
enhance the quality of software systems. Refactoring tools can automatically perform and …

Though refactoring tools have been available for more than a decade, research has shown
that programmers underutilize such tools. However, little is known about why programmers …

One of the important ways to make software soft,(ie, easy to change, reuse, and develop), is
to automate the various program transformations that occur as software evolves. Automating …

Tools that perform refactoring are currently under-utilized by programmers. As more
advanced refactoring tools are designed, a great chasm widens between how the tools must …

Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) have come to perform a wide variety of tasks
on behalf of the programmer, refactoring being a classic example. These operations have …

Software systems that undergo repeated addition of functionality commonly suffer a loss of
quality in their underlying designs, termed design erosion. This leads to the maintenance of …

Refactoring engines may have overly strong preconditions preventing developers from
applying useful transformations. We find that 32 percent of the Eclipse and JRRT test suites …