8 ms·

I think it’s widely accepted that refactors should not change behavior. That’s my experience, at least.

sevnin 2y ago
Huh, I guess that's true, even on wikipedia. I will have to stop using the word then. Though I'm pretty sure most people use it in day-to-day with much more abandon.
- FooBarBizBazz 2y ago
  The metaphor, I think, is that your code is a mathematical function, and, to be even more specific and "toy example" about it, let's say it's a polynomial. If the old code was x^2 + x z + y x + y z then you notice that you can express the same polynomial as: (x + y)*(x + z) It's still the same polynomial, but you "separated concerns", turning it into a product of two simpler factors. Similar ideas apply to sets of tuples. Perhaps you were given {(1, 1), (1, 4), (2, 1), (2, 4), (3, 1), (3, 4)} and you notice that this can be expressed more simply as the Cartesian product: {1, 2, 3} x {1, 4} Again, a literal factoring. You can imagine how variations of this idea would apply to database tables and data structures. That's where I think the word "refactor" comes from.
  - sevnin 2y ago
    My man, thanks for the explanation but I understand the concept I just didn't agree on definition.
    - FooBarBizBazz 2y ago
      Sure. Whenever you post on a forum it's half for anybody else reading, right? I just thought it was interesting to consider the underlying metaphor; maybe people don't think about it. Metaphors, connotations, etymologies -- I find these interesting.
      - sevnin 2y ago
        Sure, I agree. You could even respond to me fully selfishly - treat me as a stepping stone just to form your argument, nothing wrong with that.
  - nuancebydefault 2y ago
    If you change the polynomial, you change the order of calculations and hence change behaviour. You might get overflows in case of integers or different precision in case of floats. Nice to learn where the word originates from. Often the meaning of words change over time. E.g. today no horses need involved in bootstrapping.
    - sevnin 2y ago
      He said "I think" implying that he is not fully sure about the etymology. There is a history section on wikipedia for refactoring if you are interested.
    - xigoi 2y ago
      A polynomial is a mathematical object. There are no integer overflows or float imprecisions in mathematics.
      - nuancebydefault 2y ago
        You are right but in fact the maths are only a means to an end, a model that isn't exactly equal to the final real world implementation in analog or digital electronics.

Huh, I guess that's true, even on wikipedia. I will have to stop using the word then. Though I'm pretty sure most people use it in day-to-day with much more abandon.

FooBarBizBazz 2y ago
The metaphor, I think, is that your code is a mathematical function, and, to be even more specific and "toy example" about it, let's say it's a polynomial. If the old code was x^2 + x z + y x + y z then you notice that you can express the same polynomial as: (x + y)*(x + z) It's still the same polynomial, but you "separated concerns", turning it into a product of two simpler factors. Similar ideas apply to sets of tuples. Perhaps you were given {(1, 1), (1, 4), (2, 1), (2, 4), (3, 1), (3, 4)} and you notice that this can be expressed more simply as the Cartesian product: {1, 2, 3} x {1, 4} Again, a literal factoring. You can imagine how variations of this idea would apply to database tables and data structures. That's where I think the word "refactor" comes from.
- sevnin 2y ago
  My man, thanks for the explanation but I understand the concept I just didn't agree on definition.
  - FooBarBizBazz 2y ago
    Sure. Whenever you post on a forum it's half for anybody else reading, right? I just thought it was interesting to consider the underlying metaphor; maybe people don't think about it. Metaphors, connotations, etymologies -- I find these interesting.
    - sevnin 2y ago
      Sure, I agree. You could even respond to me fully selfishly - treat me as a stepping stone just to form your argument, nothing wrong with that.
- nuancebydefault 2y ago
  If you change the polynomial, you change the order of calculations and hence change behaviour. You might get overflows in case of integers or different precision in case of floats. Nice to learn where the word originates from. Often the meaning of words change over time. E.g. today no horses need involved in bootstrapping.
  - sevnin 2y ago
    He said "I think" implying that he is not fully sure about the etymology. There is a history section on wikipedia for refactoring if you are interested.
  - xigoi 2y ago
    A polynomial is a mathematical object. There are no integer overflows or float imprecisions in mathematics.
    - nuancebydefault 2y ago
      You are right but in fact the maths are only a means to an end, a model that isn't exactly equal to the final real world implementation in analog or digital electronics.