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image/svg+xml Jakob Voss, based on art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina and Beao Closed Access logo, derived from PLoS Open Access logo. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Closed_Access_logo_transparent.svg Jakob Voss, based on art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina and Beao
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Article . 2014
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On the Comprehension of Program Comprehension

Authors: Maalej, Walid; Tiarks, Rebecca; Roehm, Tobias; Koschke, Rainer;

On the Comprehension of Program Comprehension

Abstract

Research in program comprehension has evolved considerably over the past decades. However, only little is known about how developers practice program comprehension in their daily work. This article reports on qualitative and quantitative research to comprehend the strategies, tools, and knowledge used for program comprehension. We observed 28 professional developers, focusing on their comprehension behavior, strategies followed, and tools used. In an online survey with 1,477 respondents, we analyzed the importance of certain types of knowledge for comprehension and where developers typically access and share this knowledge. We found that developers follow pragmatic comprehension strategies depending on context. They try to avoid comprehension whenever possible and often put themselves in the role of users by inspecting graphical interfaces. Participants confirmed that standards, experience, and personal communication facilitate comprehension. The team size, its distribution, and open-source experience influence their knowledge sharing and access behavior. While face-to-face communication is preferred for accessing knowledge, knowledge is frequently shared in informal comments. Our results reveal a gap between research and practice, as we did not observe any use of comprehension tools and developers seem to be unaware of them. Overall, our findings call for reconsidering the research agendas towards context-aware tool support.

Keywords

European Commission

  • BIP!
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    citations
    This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    144
    popularity
    This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
    Top 1%
    influence
    This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    Top 1%
    impulse
    This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
    Top 1%
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citations
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
144
Top 1%
Top 1%
Top 1%
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