On the Structure and Semantics of Identifier Names Containing Closed Syntactic Category Words
Identifier names are crucial components of code, serving as primary clues for developers to understand program behavior. This paper investigates the linguistic structure of identifier names by extending the concept of grammar patterns, which represent the part-of-speech (PoS) sequences underlying identifier phrases. The specific focus is on closed syntactic categories (e.g., prepositions, conjunctions, determiners), which are rarely studied in software engineering despite their central role in general natural language. To study these categories, the Closed Category Identifier Dataset (CCID), a new manually annotated dataset of 1,275 identifiers drawn from 30 open-source systems, is constructed and presented. The relationship between closed-category grammar patterns and program behavior is then analyzed using grounded-theory-inspired coding, statistical, and pattern analysis. The results reveal recurring structures that developers use to express concepts such as control flow, data transformation, temporal reasoning, and other behavioral roles through naming. This work contributes an empirical foundation for understanding how linguistic resources encode behavior in identifier names and supports new directions for research in naming, program comprehension, and education.
Wed 8 JulDisplayed time zone: Eastern Time (US & Canada) change
10:30 - 12:30 | Comprehension and MaintenanceIndustry Papers / Research Papers / Tool Demonstrations / Journal-First Paper at MB 5.215 Chair(s): Tushar Sharma Dalhousie University | ||
10:30 20mTalk | GAER: Graph Auto-Encoders for Unsupervised Software Architecture Recovery Research Papers Rakhshanda Jabeen Electrolux Professional, Morgan Ericsson Linnaeus University, Jonas Nordqvist Linnaeus University, Anna Wingkvist Linnaeus University | ||
10:50 20mTalk | Developer Perspectives on REST API Usability: A Study of REST API Guidelines Industry Papers Sven Peldszus Chalmers | University of Gothenburg, Jan Rutenkolk Ruhr University Bochum, Marcel Heide Ruhr University Bochum, Jan Sollmann Ruhr University Bochum, Benjamin Klatt viadee AG, Frank Köhne viadee AG, Thorsten Berger Ruhr University Bochum DOI Pre-print | ||
11:10 20mTalk | An Exploratory Eye Tracking Study on How Developers Classify and Debug Python Code in Different Paradigms Journal-First Paper Samuel W. Flint Dakota State University, Jigyasa Chauhan University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Niloofar Mansoor University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Bonita Sharif University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA, Robert Dyer University of Nebraska-Lincoln DOI | ||
11:30 20mTalk | On the Structure and Semantics of Identifier Names Containing Closed Syntactic Category Words Journal-First Paper Christian D. Newman Rochester Institute of Technology, Anthony Peruma University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Eman Abdullah AlOmar Stevens Institute of Technology, USA, Mahie Crabbe University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Syreen Banabilah Kent State University, Reem Alsuhaibani Prince Sultan University, Michael J. Decker Bowling Green State University, Farhad Akhbardeh Briar Cliff University, Marcos Zampieri George mason University, Mohamed Wiem Mkaouer University of Michigan-Flint, Jonathan I. Maletic Kent State University Link to publication DOI | ||
11:50 10mTalk | Supporting the Comprehension of Data Analysis Scripts Tool Demonstrations Florian Sihler Ulm University, Oliver Gerstl Ulm University, Lars Pfrenger Ulm University, Julian Schubert Ulm University, Matthias Tichy Ulm University DOI Pre-print | ||
12:00 10mTalk | ZION: System Exploration With Class Contours Tool Demonstrations Mattia Giannaccari REVEAL @ Software Institute – USI, Lugano, Switzerland, Marco Raglianti REVEAL @ Software Institute – USI, Lugano, Switzerland, Michele Lanza Software Institute - USI, Lugano | ||
12:10 20mTalk | Evaluating Explanatory Artefacts of DSAR-Recovered Software Architectures from Industrial Codebases Industry Papers Satrio Adi Rukmono Institut Teknologi Bandung, Lina Ochoa Eindhoven University of Technology, Thijs Bressers ASML, Jacob Krüger Eindhoven University of Technology, Michel Chaudron Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands | ||