Today, refactoring requires adequate design know-how, but once tools are available, all programmers should be able to improve their code using refactoring techniques. Besides the introduction refactoring, this handbook provides a catalog of dozens of tips for improving code. (Just like patterns, each refactoring tip is presented with a simple name, a "motivation," and examples using Java and UML.) Early chapters emphasize the importance of testing in successful refactoring. (When you fix the code, you should test to verify that it still works.) After a discussion about how to detect the "smell" of bad code, readers get to the heart of the book, a catalog of more than 70 "refactorings" - tips for a better class design nice and simple. Then the chapter gives a quick look at refactoring research. Like software patterns, refactoring may be an idea whose time has come -. Richard Dragan Topics Covered: Refactoring, improving software code, redesign, design tips, patterns, unit testing, refactoring research, and tools.