Re-engineering Legacy Software

Most developers inherit projects built on an existing codebase that reflect design patterns, usage assumptions, infrastructure, and tooling from another time and another team. (And the docs are complete rubbish.) Fortunately, there are techniques that can breathe new life into legacy projects, allowing them to be maintained, improved, and scaled without having to constantly fight their current limitations. Stronger applications can be developed by injecting new architectural patterns, modern techniques for performance analysis, updated tests and build tools, and a healthy dose of cultural wisdom—creating a better work experience for all involved.

Re-Engineering Legacy Software is an experience-driven guide to revitalizing inherited projects. It covers refactoring, quality metrics, toolchain and workflow, continuous integration, infrastructure automation, and organizational culture. On the technical side, readers will learn techniques for introducing dependency injection for code modularity, quantitatively measuring quality, and automating infrastructure. On the strategic side, they'll develop practical processes for solid decision making. Core topics include deciphering and modularizing awkward code structures, effectively integrating and automating tests, replacing an outdated build system, and infrastructure automation using tools like Vagrant and Ansible.

Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.

Chris Birchall is a backend developer at M3 in Tokyo, working on Japan's largest medical portal site. Previously he has worked on a wide range of projects including high-performance log management software, natural language analysis tools and numerous mobile sites. He is an active member of the Tokyo Scala community and an active open source contributor. He earned a degree in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge.