In this one-of-a-kind book, Microsoft MVP Danijel Arsenovski shows you how to utilize the power of refactoring to improve the design of your existing code and become more efficient and productive. He provides you with a hands-on approach so you'll quickly learn how to manage and modify your code with refactoring tools and features. You'll also discover how to perform unit testing, refactoring to patterns, and refactoring to upgrade legacy Visual Basic code.

As you progress through the chapters, you'll build a prototype application from scratch. You'll then utilize refactoring techniques to transform the code into a properly designed, enterprise-level application. Arsenovski walks you step-by-step through each process while offering expert coding tips. You'll then be able to apply this information to real situations that arise as a result of company expansion, policy changes, or similar business decisions.

What you will learn from this book

* The steps involved in assembling a refactoring toolkit
* How to activate explicit and strict compiler options
* Effective strategies for error handling
* How to eliminate dead code, reduce scope, and remove unused references
* Method consolidation and extraction techniques
* Advanced object-oriented concepts and related refactorings
* How to organize code for large-scale projects
* Tips for taking advantage of LINQ and other VB 2008 enhancements
* Core refactorings and basic code smells
* How to use the free Refactor! add-in for Visual Basic
* Visual Basic–specific refactorings and smells

Who this book is for
This book is for intermediate to expert programmers, developers, or .NET software architects who are familiar with basic object-oriented concepts, Visual Basic, and the Visual Studio environment.