Java Reference
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operations; they're full-fledged refactoring operations that make all the necessary
adjustments to your project's source code.
Deleting unused classes and symbols safely
You don't want to delete a method or other symbol that is being used by another
part of your program. Although you could certainly use the Find Usages com-
mand as a way to ensure that something is as useless as you think, IDEA makes it
easy with the Safe Delete command. Safe Delete automatically performs a usage
check for you, proceeding with the deletion only if the symbol really is unused (or
you accept the warning and delete it anyhow).
You execute a Safe Delete refactoring by placing your cursor on the doomed
symbol inside the editor and pressing Alt+Delete , executing the Refactor | Safe
Delete command from the main menu, or right-clicking the symbol and selecting
the Refactor | Safe Delete option. You can also delete packages and classes
through the Project , Structure , and Commander windows.
Once you request the deletion, IDEA checks for
existing usages (see figure 9.15); if any are found, it
presents a warning dialog and gives you a chance to
see the usages. The usages view works the same as
the Find tool window; this includes giving you the
ability to exclude individual references from the
deletion operation. Generally, you use the results to
track down all the references, examine or modify
them, and then make the decision to proceed with
the deletion. If you click the Ignore button under
the list of detected usages, IDEA performs the deletion regardless of usages, leav-
ing you to clean up your own mess. Alternatively, you can choose to cancel the
entire operation. If you perform a delete on a class or file and are using a version
control system, IDEA performs the necessary operations to record the deletion.
(See chapter 8.)
Figure 9.15 Safe Delete
makes sure you don't delete
something you shouldn't by
finding all its usages.
When you're deleting a field variable with corresponding access meth-
ods, IDEA gives you the option of deleting the access methods as well.
TIP
Creating new classes by copying existing ones
You can use the Copy refactoring to copy a class (or an entire package). This is
often a good way to create a new class using an old one as a starting point. You can
only perform the Copy refactoring on a class, file, package, or directory. (It
 
 
 
 
 
 
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