Computer Science and Information Systems 12(2):375–403 DOI: 10.2298/CSIS141025015H Model-Driven Java Code Refactoring Sohaib Hamioud1, and Fadila Atil2 1 Complex System Engineering Laboratory (LISCO), Department of Computer Science, Badji Mokhtar University, POB 12, 23000 Annaba, Algeria
[email protected] 2 Complex System Engineering Laboratory (LISCO), Department of Computer Science, Badji Mokhtar University, POB 12, 23000 Annaba, Algeria
[email protected] Abstract. Refactoring is an important technique for restructuring code to improve its design and increase programmer productivity and code reuse. Performing refactorings manually, however, is tedious, time consuming and error-prone. Thus, providing an automated support for them is necessary. Unfortunately even in our days, such automation is still not easily achieved and requires formal specifications of the refactoring process. Moreover, extensibility and tool develo- pment automation are factors that should be taken into consideration when design- ing and implementing automated refactorings. In this paper, we introduce a model-driven approach where refactoring features, such as code representation, analysis and transformation adopt models as first-class artifacts. We aim at exploring the value of model transformation and code generation when formaliz- ing refactorings and developing tool support. The presented approach is applied to the refactoring of Java code using a prototypical implementation based on the Eclipse Modeling Framework, a language workbench, a Java metamodel and a set of OMG standards. Keywords: code refactoring, metamodeling, model-driven engineering. 1. Introduction Refactoring is the process of changing the internal structure of a software without chan- ging its external behavior, typically aimed at making code more reusable, easier to maintain, easier to extend and easier to understand [3], [19].