Whenever I do refactoring, the first step is always the same. I need to ensure I have a solid set of tests for that section of code. The tests are essential because even though I will follow refactorings structured to avoid most of the opportunities for introducing bugs, I’m still human and still make mistakes. The larger a program, the more likely it is that my changes will cause something to break inadvertently—in the digital age, frailty’s name is software.
