Question

A good rule of thumb by is that I intelligently refactor any method over 50 lines.

The count does not include comments and white space but actual code. The reason I also say intelligently is there are plenty of times where a class over 50 lines is acceptable and cannot or should not be changed.

I do not have a rule of thumb for classes. Generally I don’t check classes to see if they should be refactored.

On my currently project I have just about complete a class that is almost 4000 lines long. However no methods over 50, and most of the lines and methods are private and not acting on any data outside of the class.

What is the rule of thumb for refactoring classes?

Answer 1

When the class violates the SRP, it’s time to refactor.

The single responsibility principle is a computer programming
principle that states that every module or class should have
responsibility over a single part of the functionality provided by the
software, and that responsibility should be entirely encapsulated by
the class. All its services should be narrowly aligned with that
responsibility