Supportsoft Glossary

Why Code Refactoring Enhances Performance and Stability

Refactoring is an improvement process of already-existing code's internal structure while still maintaining the same external behaviour of software from the perspective of the end user.

As time passes and new features are added, as well as increasing pressure to meet deadlines, the codebase can become disordered or require additional work due to difficult maintenance issues. Refactoring can allow you to return the codebase to an orderly state by reducing complexity, eliminating duplication, and reorganising sections of the codebase, which allows developers to develop more efficiently and to understand the code more effectively.

In addition to producing improved performance, the implementation of good refactoring practices results in improved stability and predictability through well-structured code. When a developer has clean, well-structured code, he/she is less likely to have to deal with issues that he/she would have had to deal with in unstructured code, leaving more time to work on adding new features with greater confidence.

In addition to providing technical improvements, refactoring will allow an organisation to maintain an agile environment. As we have seen with many applications over the years, they will typically live for many years. With a maintainable codebase, the future cost and time for upgrades or integrations will be reduced. As a product changes, it is important to continue to put in place good refactoring practices to create an appropriate and scalable environment for coding according to the best practices of today.