ESEIW 2024
Sun 20 - Fri 25 October 2024 Barcelona, Spain

Non-trivial software systems are commonly developed using more than a single programming language, averaging 5 different languages according to recent studies. However, multi-language development is not straightforward. Developers need to be proficient in each language and also know the best integration practices between languages. Nowadays, tools powered by Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, have been shown to successfully assist practitioners in several aspects of software development. This paper reports a preliminary study aimed to investigate to what extent ChatGPT is being used in multi-language development scenarios. Hence, we leveraged DevGPT, a dataset of conversations between software practitioners and ChatGPT which also includes links to GitHub repositories from which the conversations originated. In total, we studied data from 3,584 conversations, comprising a total of 18,862 code snippets suggested by ChatGPT. Our analyses show that only 18.33% of the code snippets suggested by ChatGPT are written in the same programming language as the primary language in the repository where the conversation was shared. An in-depth analysis showcased interesting remarks. While we observed expected scenarios, such as 31.54% of JavaScript snippets being suggested in CSS repositories, we also unveiled surprising ones, such as Python snippets being largely suggested in C++ repositories. After a qualitative open card sorting of the conversations involving multiple languages, we found that in 70% of them developers were asking for coding support while in 57% developers used ChatGPT as a tool to generate code automatically. Our initial results indicate that not only are LLM-based tools being used in multi-language development but also showcase the most common contexts in which such tools are assisting developers.

Fri 25 Oct

Displayed time zone: Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris change

14:00 - 15:30
Large language models in software engineering IIESEM Emerging Results, Vision and Reflection Papers Track / ESEM IGC at Telensenyament (B3 Building - 1st Floor)
Chair(s): Claudio Di Sipio University of l'Aquila
14:00
15m
Vision and Emerging Results
Debugging with Open-Source Large Language Models: An Evaluation
ESEM Emerging Results, Vision and Reflection Papers Track
Yacine Majdoub IResCoMath Lab, University of Gabes, Eya Ben Charrada IResCoMath Lab, University of Gabes
Link to publication DOI Pre-print
14:15
15m
Vision and Emerging Results
Multi-language Software Development in the LLM Era: Insights from Practitioners’ Conversations with ChatGPT
ESEM Emerging Results, Vision and Reflection Papers Track
Lucas Almeida Aguiar State University of Ceará, Matheus Paixao State University of Ceará, Rafael Carmo Federal University of Ceará, Edson Soares Instituto Atlantico & State University of Ceara (UECE), Antonio Leal State University of Ceará, Matheus Freitas State University of Ceará, Eliakim Gama State University of Ceará
14:30
15m
Vision and Emerging Results
Exploring LLM-Driven Explanations for Quantum Algorithms
ESEM Emerging Results, Vision and Reflection Papers Track
Giordano d'Aloisio University of L'Aquila, Sophie Fortz King's College London, Carol Hanna University College London, Daniel Fortunato INESC-ID, University of Porto, Avner Bensoussan King's College London, Eñaut Mendiluze Usandizaga Simula Research Laboratory, Norway, Federica Sarro University College London
Pre-print
14:45
15m
Industry talk
Beyond Words: On Large Language Models Actionability in Mission-Critical Risk Analysis
ESEM IGC
Matteo Esposito University of Oulu, Francesco Palagiano Multitel di Lerede Alessandro & C. s.a.s., Valentina Lenarduzzi University of Oulu, Davide Taibi University of Oulu
Pre-print
15:00
15m
Vision and Emerging Results
Detecting Code Smells using ChatGPT: Initial Insights
ESEM Emerging Results, Vision and Reflection Papers Track
Luciana L. Silva Federal University of Minas Gerais, Janio R. Silva IFMG, João Eduardo Montandon Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Marcus Andrade IFMG, Marco Tulio Valente Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil
15:15
15m
Industry talk
ChatGPT’s Potential in Cryptography Misuse Detection: A Comparative Analysis with Static Analysis Tools
ESEM IGC
Ehsan Firouzi TU Clausthal, Mohammad Ghafari TU Clausthal, Mike Ebrahimi CUBE