An awesome entry to better code: The gilded rose kata
For some reason, I was told an interesting github repo, The Gilded Rose Kata. It really grasps my attention. The code's behavior is correct, but both code quality and code style are terrible. The author of the repo made it so bad on purpose. So it is the best material to teach newbies how to refactor.
From the Readme file of the repo, I learnt some new tools, one is the text based approval test. I actually know that concept before many years ago, but never practiced it. I just found it is easy to setup and easy to run. It tests your code from a new angle. I believe it could belong to a kind of greybox test. You need to know the code to test, but you don't know too much like other unit test methods.
I have done the refactoring, and my result has been put on Github.com
- first approach is on the main branch https://github.com/shukebeta/GildedRose-Refactoring-Kata/tree/main/csharpcore
- a better approach is on the other branch https://github.com/shukebeta/GildedRose-Refactoring-Kata/tree/simple-factory-pattern-approch
Here are some good links, and I would update it timely.
Writing good tests for the gilded rose kata
Principles for agile test automation
The gilded rose refactoring kata
How to refactor gildedrose refactoring kata with simple factory pattern and strategy pattern