Re Factoring

Without changing the functionality of the program, it is possible to improve the code of a program by refactoring.

Typical refactoring operations:

change the name of a variable

change the name of a class or structure definition

change the name of a method or function

change the type of a variable or class member

change the name of a parameter in a function/method definition

convert an inner class to a top-level class definition

convert inline code into a method or function etc.

@tunixman: if there is no unit test, why should we use refactorings?

@bigballofmud Brian Foote: Technically yes, but so is blindfolded brain surgery.

You unit test guys crack me up. You're like heroin junkies, but funnier.

See What Is Refactoring for a more complete description and explanation.