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Tackling Legacy Code with AI

2 min read

Tackling Legacy Code with AI

AI Summary

Video Title: Clean Code with AI: Working with Legacy Code

Overview

  • Host: Chans from Next Iteration
  • Topic: Enhancing a legacy video rental codebase using AI assistance.

Context

  • Focuses on a legacy code system that generates text statements for video rentals.
  • Requirement: Enhance existing text statement to an HTML format.

Key Classes

  • Customer, Movie, Rental
  • Legacy code lacks tests, requiring careful changes.

Process

  1. Understanding Legacy Code: Identify the main entry point through the Customer class’s statement method.
  2. Avoid Duplicating Code: Emphasize the importance of maintaining a single codebase to prevent bugs and complexities.
  3. Characterization Tests: Write tests that describe the existing behavior of the legacy system to ensure functionality remains intact during updates.
    • Example Tests Created:
      • Customer with no rentals.
      • Customer with regular movie rentals for varying days (1, 2, 3 days).
      • New release movie rentals for varying days (1, 2, 3 days).
      • Children’s movie rentals for varying days (1, 2, 3, 4 days).
      • Handling multiple rentals.
  4. Code Coverage Checks: Achieve 100% code coverage through the characterization tests, ensuring all paths are tested.

Conclusion

  • Aim for clean, maintainable code without duplicating logic.
  • Importance of documentation through tests to aid future maintainers.
  • Utilization of AI tools to speed up the development process, while being mindful of correctness.

Ending Note

  • Open invitation for viewers to share their experiences with similar techniques in legacy code projects.

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