Generalization produces its own batch of refactoring techniques, mostly dealing with moving methods around a hierarchy of inheritance. Pull Up Field and
- Pull Up Method both promote function up a hierarchy, and
- Push Down Method and Push Down Field push function downward.
Constructors are a little bit more awkward to pull up, so Pull Up Constructor Body deals with those issues. Rather than pushing down a constructor, it is often useful to use Replace Constructor with Factory Method.
If you have methods that have a similar outline body but vary in details, you can use Form Template Method to separate the differences from the similarities. In addition to moving function around a hierarchy, you can change the hierarchy by creating new classes. Extract Subclass, Extract Superclass, and Extract Interface all do this by forming new elements out of various points. Extract Interface is particularly important when you want to
mark a small amount of function for the type system. If you find yourself with unnecessary classes in your hierarchy, you can use Collapse Hierarchy to remove them.
Sometimes you find that inheritance is not the best way of handling a situation and that you need delegation instead. Replace Inheritance with Delegation helps make this change. Sometimes
life is the other way around and you have to use Replace Delegation with Inheritance.
