An Object-Oriented Framework for Automated Refactoring of Legacy Procedural Source Code

International Journal of Computer Science and Technology | Vol. 5, No. 10, October 2003 | pp. 73–80

DOI: 10.46882/2003/IJCST/000050

Article Type: Original Research Paper

Title: An Object-Oriented Framework for Automated Refactoring of Legacy Procedural Source Code

Names of Authors: John A. Benson¹, Ananya Rao²

Authors’ Affiliations: ¹Department of Computer Science, University of Technology, London, UK; ²School of Data Science, Tech-Institute of Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Abstract: Software maintainability remains an expensive challenge for corporate entities operating massive legacy systems written in procedural development languages. This paper introduces an automated migration framework designed to parse procedural code bases and refactor them into structured object-oriented software patterns. The system relies on a structural Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) analyzer that identifies functional dependencies, data groupings, and global state variables. These procedural clusters are systematically mapped into standalone classes by optimizing cohesive coupling indicators. We validated the tool on an industrial library containing 150,000 lines of legacy C source code, translating it directly into functional C++ structures. Quantitative evaluation metrics showed a 34.5% reduction in cyclomatic complexity indexes. Software engineers corroborated these metrics, reporting a significant improvement in manual debugging speed and code legibility across the migrated system architecture.

Keywords: Software Refactoring, Object-Oriented Frameworks, Legacy Systems, Abstract Syntax Trees, Structural Metrics

Manuscript Timeline: Received: June 15, 2003; Revised: August 04, 2003; Accepted: September 02, 2003; Published: October 19, 2003

Citation: Benson, J. A., & Rao, A. (2003). An Object-Oriented Framework for Automated Refactoring of Legacy Procedural Source Code. International Journal of Computer Science and Technology, 5(10), 73–80.

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