The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source

Machine powered refactoring with AST's (Interview)

Sep 19, 2019

Amal Hussein, Engineering Manager at npm and former open web engineer, dives into the world of Abstract Syntax Trees (ASTs) and their potential for transforming legacy code. She shares how ASTs improve code analysis over traditional methods and automate refactoring processes. Amal also discusses the importance of representation in tech leadership and how discontentment can drive innovation. With tools like JS CodeShift, she emphasizes demystifying ASTs to enhance development efficiency, making them accessible for all developers.

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ANECDOTE

Modernizing IE Tests with ASTs

Amal Hussein used ASTs to modernize thousands of IE tests at Boku.
These tests were valid for open web standards but used an outdated harness.

ADVICE

Bug Prevention with ASTs

When fixing bugs, consider if linting rules or tests could have prevented them.
Create custom linting rules and transforms as a first layer of defense.

INSIGHT

Democratizing ASTs

ASTs are not just for language writers; any developer can use them for refactoring.
Tools like ASTExplorer.net and JS CodeShift simplify AST manipulation.

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Amal Hussein (Engineering Manager at npm) joined the show to talk about AST’s — aka, abstract syntax trees. Amal is giving a talk at All Things Open on the subject so we asked her to give us an early preview. She’s on a mission to democratize the knowledge and usage of AST’s to push legacy code and the web forward.

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Sponsors:

All Things Open – Exploring open source, open tech, and the open web in the enterprise. Raleigh, NC — October 13-15, 2019
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GitPrime – GitPrime helps software teams accelerate their velocity and release products faster by turning historical git data into easy to understand insights and reports. Ship faster because you know more. Not because you’re rushing. Learn more at gitprime.com/changelog.
TeamCity by JetBrains – Build and release your software faster with TeamCity — a self-hosted continuous integration and delivery server developed by JetBrains. TeamCity is super-smart at running incremental builds, reusing artifacts, and building only what needs to be built, which can save over 30% of the daily build time. Learn more at teamcity.com/changelog.

Featuring:

Amal Hussein – GitHub, X
Adam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X
Jerod Santo – GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X

Show Notes:

We’ll be at All Things Open! We’re hosting a LIVE JS Party on stage and Jerod Santo is giving a talk on using Svelte for a radical new approach to building user interfaces. And as a special thanks from the team behind All Things Open, we’re giving away 5 free passes to the conference. All you have to do tweet “I want a free pass to All Things Open because…” and state your reason and copy @Changelog and @AllThingsOpen in the tweet.

We’ll DM the winners next Friday, September 27th — good luck!

For those who don’t want to wait and just want 20% off your ticket right now — use the code changelog20 when you buy your tickets. This code has UNLIMITED uses, so tell your friends! Head to allthingsopen.com to learn more and register.

Amal’s talk at All Things Open — Machine powered refactoring: leverage AST’s to push your legacy code (& the web) forward
AllThingsOpen.org
AST Explorer
StranglerFigApplication
Abstract syntax tree on Wikipedia
The Web Platform podcast
Jscodeshift

Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!