Software erosion
Software erosion ( English software erosion, code erosion ), also known as software decay ( English software decay, code decay ) or software rot (English software rot, code rot ), describes the gradual deterioration of existing software , such as the increasing decline in performance, difficulties with the adaptability or an increase due to the accumulation of program errors , as well as incompatibilities with new and future software environments . The software solution gets a code smell in the medium term and becomes one in the long termLegacy system and therefore unusable.
Refactoring
Refactoring is a measure to address the problem of software erosion. It is the process of rewriting existing code to improve structure without changing external behavior. This involves removing dead codes and rewriting sections that have been heavily modified and no longer work efficiently. It must be ensured that the external behavior of the code does not change, as this can lead to incompatibilities and thus accelerate software erosion. The code behavior can be checked with module tests that automatically verify the behavior of the code.
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Martin Fowler: What Is Refactoring. September 11, 2007, accessed January 31, 2013 .