I spent the first few minutes just reading the code and honestly second-guessing whether I should rename everything or stay conservative.
Start by clarifying the code's purpose and identifying pain points, then refactor incrementally with tests to ensure behavior preservation. Focus on extracting small, single-responsibility functions, renaming for clarity, and adding unit tests that cover edge cases.
Pro tip: Before refactoring, write characterization tests to lock in current behavior, then improve the code under that safety net. This demonstrates professional discipline and reduces risk.
Read the code, identify its inputs, outputs, and side effects. Write a brief summary of what it does and note any unclear or risky parts.
Write tests that capture the current behavior of the code, including edge cases, to ensure refactoring doesn't break functionality.
Extract helper functions for distinct logical blocks, rename variables and functions to be descriptive, and reduce function length. Run tests after each small change.
Decouple dependencies (e.g., via dependency injection) and ensure functions are pure where possible. Add unit tests for new helper functions.
Review the refactored code for readability and modularity. Ensure all tests pass and consider adding integration tests if needed.
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.