[Tutor] RE: global vars vs. func args

[Scott Widney]

> Thanks for following up on that thread for me -- I was 
> wondering about whether or not pros use procedures.
> 
> Your response raises one question though -- what's 
> "refactor"?  I think the quote was "You can always 
> refactor it later if it's going to be around for a 
> while".
> 

Ah, refactoring! Well, to begin with, it's the title of Martin Fowler's July
'99 book. Here's a quote from him:

"Refactoring is a technique to restructure code in a disciplined way. For a
long time it was a piece of programmer lore, done with varying degrees of
discipline by experienced developers, but not passed on in a coherent way."

He even has a website for it: www.refactoring.com

At it's core, it's taking existing code and reworking it, piece by piece,
possibly using techniques that didn't exist at the time it was originally
created. Kind of a "If I knew then what I know now" thing....  It's gone on
since programming began, but now it has a Name, documented techniques,
tools, and a community.

Scott