Português
Ciência-IUL
Publications
Publication Detailed Description
Journal Title
Journal of Systems and Software
Year (definitive publication)
2017
Language
English
Country
United States of America
More Information
Web of Science®
Scopus
Google Scholar
Abstract
User studies have revealed that programmers face several obstacles when learning application programming interfaces (APIs). A considerable part of such difficulties relate to discovery of API elements and the relationships among them. To address discoverability problems, we show how to complement APIs with design annotations, which document design decisions in a program-processable form for types, methods, and parameters. The information provided by the annotations is consumed by the integrated development environment (IDE) in order to assist API users with useful code completion proposals regarding object creation and manipulation, which facilitate API exploration and learning. As a proof of concept, we developed Dacite, a tool which comprises a set of Java annotations and an accompanying plugin for the Eclipse IDE. A user study revealed that Dacite is usable and effective, and Dacite’s proposals enable programmers to be more successful in solving programming tasks involving unfamiliar APIs.
Acknowledgements
--
Keywords
API usability,Annotations,Code completion,IDE,Eclipse
Fields of Science and Technology Classification
- Computer and Information Sciences - Natural Sciences
Funding Records
| Funding Reference | Funding Entity |
|---|---|
| HCC: Large: Collaborative Research: Variations to Support Exploratory Programming | National Science Foundation |
| UID/MULTI/0446/2013 | Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia |
| HCC: Small: Better Tools for Authoring Interactive Behaviors | National Science Foundation |
Contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations
With the objective to increase the research activity directed towards the achievement of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the possibility of associating scientific publications with the Sustainable Development Goals is now available in Ciência-IUL. These are the Sustainable Development Goals identified by the author(s) for this publication. For more detailed information on the Sustainable Development Goals, click here.
