Here is a Quick Way to Eliminate Dead Code

If plug-ins were tools the Eclipse Core Tools plug-in would be a Swiss army knife. One of it's most useful tools is finding unused methods and fields in your code. I used it recently to remove obsolete code from my plug-ins.

To start removing unused code, follow these steps:

1. Download version 1.4.0 (for Eclipse 3.2) of the Eclipse Core Tools from this update site:
   http://www.eclipse.org/eclipse/platform-core/updates/
   
   
2. In a workspace that contains all related code, select the project / package / file you want to work on.
   
   (When I did this, I actually closed my unit-test projects because I didn't want to keep code around that is used nowhere but in tests. I refactored or removed the broken tests afterwards.)
   
   
3. In the context menu select Find Unreferenced Members. The results will be shown in the Search view.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Remove unreferenced code, but use your judgment!
   
   Some code may appear unreferenced, that in fact isn't. Common examples:
   
   • code that is contributed through extension-points
   • code that is invoked through reflection
     
     
   Some code may be unreferenced, but there might be good reasons for keeping it:
   
   • unreferenced code that is API
   • unreferenced fields in Serializable classes
   • private constructors (if you use them to enforce non-instantiability or the singleton property - Effective Java, Items 2 and 3)
   
   
5. Repeat steps 2 - 4 as often as necessary.
   
   

What are your favorite tools for cleaning-up code?

Knife Image: (c) 2004, brokenarts/stock.xchng