Identifier Name Similarities: An Exploratory Study
High-quality identifier names, which make up a large portion of the codebase, are the cornerstone of effective program comprehension. Furthermore, prior research has shown that poorly chosen names can significantly increase cognitive load and hinder collaboration. However, even names that appear readable in isolation may lead to misunderstandings in contexts when they closely resemble other names in either structure or functionality. In this exploratory study, we present our preliminary findings on the occurrence of identifier name similarity in software projects through the development of a taxonomy that categorizes different forms of identifier name similarity. We envision our initial taxonomy providing researchers with a platform to analyze and evaluate the impact of identifier name similarity on code comprehension, maintainability, and collaboration among developers, while also allowing for further refinement and expansion of the taxonomy.
Fri 3 OctDisplayed time zone: Hawaii change
15:40 - 17:00 | Program Comprehension and Review 2ESEM - Emerging Results and Vision Track / at Kaiulani II Chair(s): Chris Brown Virginia Tech | ||
15:40 26mTalk | Dealing with SonarQube Cloud: Initial Results from a Mining Software Repository Study ESEM - Emerging Results and Vision Track Sabato Nocera University of Salerno, Davide Fucci Blekinge Institute of Technology, Giuseppe Scanniello University of Salerno | ||
16:06 26mTalk | Exploring Large Language Models for Analyzing and Improving Method Names in Scientific Code ESEM - Emerging Results and Vision Track Gunnar Larsen University of Hawaii at Manoa, Carol Wong University of Hawaii at Manoa, Anthony Peruma University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Pre-print | ||
16:33 26mTalk | Identifier Name Similarities: An Exploratory Study ESEM - Emerging Results and Vision Track Carol Wong University of Hawaii at Manoa, Mai Abe University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Silvia De Benedictis University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Marissa Halim University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Anthony Peruma University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa | ||