SexpCliTools

In this project I am learning and exploring how to create a refactoring tool. The first refactoring tool I wrote in private, and scratched the surface on SexpProcessor capabilities. For this refactoring tool, I'm retracing my steps, and taking on a new refactoring goal.

This project focuses on the hook method refactoring described in Chapter 6 of Practical Object-Oriented Design in Ruby by Sandi Metz. In Chapter 6, we are presented with a Bicycle, MountainBike and RoadBike class, with the two specialized bikes calling super in a few of their methods. These super calls couple MountainBike and RoadBike to Bicycle by requiring them to know the details of the algorithm invoked by super. With a hook method refactor, now Bicycle can expect that local customizations of Bicycle behaviour are fulfilled by subclasses implementing hook methods, which Bicycle then calls.

Within the project wiki are my exploratory research notes. I am experimenting with writing as I work. Some of the writing helps me clarify my thinking, some is drafting of content for future posts, and some help me restore state when I change context.

Part of my learning process includes creating a tool that myself and others can use to improve their understanding of, in this case, refactoring tools. While this is a gem, depending on your needs, it might make sense to just go with the install it yourself option below.

Add this line to your application's Gemfile:

gem 'sexp_cli_tools'

And then execute:

$ bundle install

Or install it yourself as:

$ gem install sexp_cli_tools

sexp find is the main command-line interface, and it accepts an Sexp::Matcher.parse compatible string, and an optional --include flag to specify files to limit the search to. By default, sexp find will search all **/*.rb files.

• sexp find '[child (class ___)]' to find class definitions nested in a namespace

In addition to taking any Sexp::Matcher.parse pattern, sexp_cli_tools contains pre-built matchers for an expanding set of use cases.

• sexp find method-implementation spares to find implementations of the method named spares

After checking out the repo, run bundle install to install dependencies. Then, run bundle exec rake to run the tests. You can also run bin/console for an interactive prompt that will allow you to experiment.

To install this gem onto your local machine, run bundle exec rake install. To release a new version, update the version number in version.rb, and then run bundle exec rake release, which will create a git tag for the version, push git commits and the created tag, and push the .gem file to rubygems.org.

I strive to practice test driven development, and I believe you can observe that from the git history. It certainly provides a convenient experimental loop, and I attribute the emergence of a regression test to that technique.

This is an educational project. My goal is to learn. A favourite way for me to learn is through experimentation. I recognize that reading, research and teaching are also great ways to learn. With my writing, I try and offer a peek into my learning process. With that writing I can share and reflect on what I've tried, what I decided not to try, or what I didn't previously notice.

If you want to contribute, I hope the intention you bring to the contributions are to help me, or others interested in refactoring tools, to learn. I welcome the kind and generous contributions of others, but please consider that my attention might be focused elsewhere, and I might not be able to acknowledge your contribution or interest right away.

Thank you for your interest or curiosity in what or how I do what I do.

The gem is available as open source under the terms of the MIT License.