Refactoring Tools: Fitness for Purpose

Refactoring is the process of changing software\´s structure while preserving its external behavior. Refactoring tools can improve the speed and accuracy with which developers create and maintain software-but only if they are used. In practice, tools are not used as much as they could be; this seems to be because sometimes they do not align with the refactoring tactic preferred by most programmers, a tactic the authors call "floss refactoring." They propose five principles that characterize successful floss-refactoring tools - principles that can help programmers to choose the most appropriate refactoring tools and also help toolsmiths to design tools that fit the programmer\´s purpose.