Rewriting 15-Year-Old Code

Transcript

1. @afilina Rewriting 15-Year-Old Code BuildStuff, Vilnius - November 15, 2017

2. Anna Filina • Project rescue • Legacy code • Development

   • Conferences • Private workshops • Canada

3. You inherited a
 17-year-old codebase Code doesn't age like wine.

4. The Web Was 600px Wide

5. Feeling Old Yet? • Y2K bug. • Internet Explorer 5.

   • ICQ was starting to be cool. • Rounded corners = status symbol.

6. Code smells

7. Mixed Concerns <?php mysql_query('...'); $total = 0; foreach ($products as

   $p) { $total += $p['qty'] * $p['price']; } ?> <p>Total: <?= $total ?></p>

8. Poorly Named Variables $a = //... $array = //... $item3

   = //... $tempItem = //...

9. Global Functions & Constants include("functions.php"); MyClass::myMethod(); // namespaced function? myMethod(DEV_MODE);

10. Inexplicable Conditions if ($order_id > 20117) { // use this

    sql } else { // use that sql } // weakness = time to refactor

11. Long Methods public function importCsv($path, $googleApiKey, $databaseDsn, $databaseUser, $databasePassword) {

    // Convert CSV to array of conferences $lines = file($path); $csv = array_map('str_getcsv', $lines); $conferences = []; foreach ($csv as $line) { $conference = new Conference(); $conference->name = $line[0]; $conference->location = $line[1]; $conferences[] = $conference; // Get coordinates for location $location = urlencode($conference->location); $url = 'https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?address='.$location.'&key='.$googleApiKey; $curl = curl_init(); curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, $url); curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1); $response = curl_exec($curl); curl_close($curl); $json = json_decode($response); if (count($json->results) == 0) { continue; } $latitude = $json->results[0]->geometry->location->lat; $longitude = $json->results[0]->geometry->location->lng; $coordinates = $latitude.','.$longitude; $conference->coordinates = $coordinates; // Save conference to database $pdo = new PDO($databaseDsn, $databaseUser, $databasePassword); $statement = $pdo->prepare('REPLACE INTO conference (name, location, coordinates) VALUES (?, ?, ?)'); $statement->execute([ $conference->name, $conference->location, $conference->coordinates, ]);

12. Average Legacy Code File • 3000-6000 lines of code. •

    Half of it is commented "in case we need it later". • Method length of 800 lines. • Abuse of helper classes. • Sometimes no classes at all.

13. Codebase • 5,000 classes. • 20,000 methods. • 1,500,000 lines

    of code.

14. Before you code

15. Strategy • Make a strategy based on constraints. • Full

    rewrite vs progressive: ◦By class. ◦By feature/module. ◦By HTTP call. • How to run code side-by-side: ◦DB/Session sharing. ◦mod_rewrite.

16. Data Can Be Lost, Stuff Can Break • Backup: test

    restore. • Nullify sensitive data. • Staging: simulate deployments/ upgrades/batch processes. • Automate tests before code changes. • Make a risk assessment: ◦ Don't be too optimistic. ◦ Account for side-effects.

17. Build With Real Legacy Data

18. (Failed) rewrite example

19. PHP 3 to PHP 5.6 • HTML + PHP +

    SQL in same file. • Includes all over the place. • IFs that concatenate SQL. • Previous rewrite attempt: ◦ Failed, made things worse. ◦ Folders of dead code. ◦ Classes with static functions (no instances).

20. Solution • Rewrite complex forms in Symfony: ◦ mod_rewrite for

    concerned pages. • Rewrite biggest module as OOP: ◦ Design extraction. ◦ Flexible architecture. ◦ Automated tests.

21. New feature should not take longer than a sprint.

22. Design extraction

23. Avoid Code Bias • Old code → design docs. •

    Validate design docs: ◦Clarify business rules. • Improve design: ◦Reduce technical debt. ◦More flexible. • Design docs → new code.

24. Fixing bugs

25. Code Duplication • Sometimes, the bug is repeated 80+ times.

    • Remove duplications ASAP.

26. Fix Long Methods • Extract broken part into its own

    method. • Write unit tests for it. • Fix it. • Call it from the mega-method.

27. Spot Logical Groups Code block Comment Code block Comment Convert

    CSV to array of conferences. Get coordinates for conference location. Save conference to database. Code block Comment

28. Extract & Test Code block Comment Code block Method Code

    block Comment Call method

29. Name Code block Method Code block Method Call method Call

    method Code block Method Call method getConferencesFromCsv getLocationCoordinates saveConference

30. Rewrite example #2

31. ASP Classic to PHP 5.6 • 15+ spaghetti and hacks.

    • Language no longer supported. • Huge ERP with lots of code.

32. Solution • Rewrite page by page to Symfony. • mod_rewrite

    for concerned pages. • DB session adapter in both apps. • Page in any language = HTTP request. ◦ Guzzle tests FTW!

33. Guzzle Tests

34. On Testing Before you code You better test So that

    on weekends You may rest. -- Anna Filina

35. Testing Static Methods $mock = Mockery::mock('alias:SomeClass'); $mock->shouldReceive('staticMethod')->andReturn(42);

36. Stuck?

37. Try Something New • Bounce ideas. ◦ New people to

    avoid tunnel vision. • Has this been done before? • Can I try another approach?

38. Takeaways • Make a strategy. • You touch it, you

    refactor it. • Use known tools & methodologies. • Get inspiration from others. • Refactoring gets easier. • Every problem has a solution.

39. Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code Martin Fowler

40. @afilina afilina.com