Pramatr Blog

I recently stumbled across a new site called RefactorMyCode.com. The strapline reads:

“Have you got a method that you’re dying to simplify? A class that’s growing out of control? Or an algorithm that you just can’t get working? Submit it to the new, awesome web app Refactor My Code, and have it refactored.”

RefactorMyCode.com

That doesn’t all sound like refactoring, but I’m always interested in new resources so I thought I’d have a look.

Wouldn’t it be great to have a site that cares about your code ? That threats it as a piece of art and at the same time, encourage people to make it better and more beautiful ? That’s why I created RefactorMyCode.com. You submit your code, people refactor it!

First impressions weren’t great, the site was initially up and down every few minutes. I gave up in the end of thought I’d check back in a day or two. Next time I visited it, it seemed much more stable and I actually managed to view a few postings. Second impressions weren’t great either. There seemed to be a great number of posts which looked like homework assignments, after I flicked past these, I found posts which were basically code that wouldn’t compile or just didn’t work. I guess the good news is that lots of the noise was created by the same users, so maybe the administrators can do something about that.

I do have a few niggling issues with all this though. Refactoring code is an essential skill developers need to understand and practise, does it really make sense to let others do it for you? IDE’s automate most of the common refactorings developers perform, so do other people really want to perform these mundane tasks and post the results? Is it wise idea to post your companies intellectual property on a public forum? Is it possible to stop the site just becoming another “write my code for me” sites?

I do really like the concept of this site. I like the concept of community support, so the idea of other developers giving me ideas about better ways to structure my code is very appealing. It’s also nice to get a critique from someone who’s not working on your team. A fresh perspective can really help to shed some new light on your code. I also work on the perspective that lots of developers out there are better than me, so the idea of getting some of these to make suggestions about my code is quite exciting.

RefactorMyCode.com is a really new site, so there are currently a limited number of posts. It’s too early to see if the site will indeed work, or simply descend into another DoMyJobForMe.com. It is an interesting idea though, and I really hope it does succeed. Once there are a few more posts on there I’d be interested in trying out my skills and seeing if I can attain one of those top refactorer badges .