An important part of Software Engineering is the design of the software, therefore, it is necessary to recapitulate and know several concepts related to the subject.
Refactoring a software generally involves improving the quality of the software's code without changing its external behavior. Refactoring can help to improve code readability, maintainability, and performance without making significant changes to the overall design.
However, in some cases, refactoring can involve modifying the design of the software iteratively. This is typically done to improve the software's overall architecture or to add new features. For example, if a software engineer identifies that a large portion of the codebase can be improved by applying a new design pattern, this may require iteratively modifying the design as part of the refactoring process.
Rrefactoring does not necessarily mean that you modify the entire design iteratively, it´s a technique used to improve the quality, maintainability, and readability of code without changing its external behavior. It involves making small, iterative changes to specific areas of the codebase to improve its internal structure while keeping its external functionality intact.
Refactoring may involve identifying and correcting design flaws in specific areas of the codebase, such as redundancy, unused design elements, inefficient or unnecessary algorithms, poorly constructed or inappropriate data structures, or any other design failure that can be corrected to yield a better design. Therefore, while refactoring may involve examining the existing design of the software to identify design flaws that can be corrected, it does not necessarily mean that the entire design of the software is modified iteratively.
Refactoring Android Studio code does not typically change the functional behavior of the app, but it can impact the design in a number of ways, especially when changes involve UI components and patterns, or the architecture of the codebase itself. Here are a few examples:
Updating UI Libraries: When you refactor your code to update old UI libraries to new ones (such as migrating from the old Android Support Library to AndroidX), you may experience some design changes. This might happen if the newer library versions have different default styles, behaviors, or functionalities that directly influence how your app looks and behaves.
Changing UI Architectures: If you're refactoring your code to change the UI architecture pattern, for example, migrating from MVC to MVVM or MVI, this could indirectly affect the design. This is because the way you handle state and events in your app might change, resulting in different interactions and visual representations in your UI.
Refactoring Layout Files: If you are refactoring layout XML files, such as changing from RelativeLayouts to ConstraintLayouts, or changing from hardcoded pixel values to dimension resources, this could definitely affect the app design. Some layouts behave differently, and changing from one to another might result in design inconsistencies if not handled properly.
Theming and Styling: If you're refactoring to implement Material Design components, or to better adhere to a design system, this could significantly impact the look and feel of your app.
Animations: If you're refactoring to update or change the way animations are implemented, for example, moving from View animations to Property animations or the new MotionLayout, this can significantly impact how your app looks and feels during user interaction.
Changing Image Loading Libraries: Refactoring to switch between image loading libraries, for example, moving from Picasso to Glide or Coil, might result in subtle changes to how images are loaded and displayed, especially with large images or in situations with poor network conditions.
Adapting to Different Screen Sizes or Orientations: Refactoring your code to better adapt to different screen sizes, screen orientations, or different devices like tablets and foldables can impact the design, as you may introduce new layouts or adjust existing ones for better responsiveness.
Remember that while these examples might affect the design, the main purpose of refactoring is to improve the internal structure of your code, making it easier to read, maintain, and extend, rather than to change its external behavior or appearance.