Engineering Formality and Software Risk in Debian Python Packages
Fri 15 Mar 2024 16:30 - 16:37 at LAPPI - Software Ecosystems Chair(s): Anna-Katharina Wickert
While free/libre and open source software (FLOSS) is critical to global computing infrastructure, the maintenance of widely-adopted FLOSS packages is dependent on volunteer developers who select their own tasks. Risk of failure due to the misalignment of engineering supply and demand — known as underproduction — has led to code base decay and subsequent cybersecurity incidents such as the Heartbleed and Log4Shell vulnerabilities. FLOSS projects are self-organizing but can often expand into larger, more formal efforts. Although some prior work suggests that becoming a more formal organization decreases project risk, other work suggests that formalization may increase the likelihood of project abandonment. We evaluate the relationship between underproduction and formality, focusing on formal structure, developer responsibility, and work process management. We analyze 182 packages written in Python and made available via the Debian GNU/Linux distribution. We find that although more formal structures are associated with higher risk of underproduction, more elevated developer responsibility is associated with less underproduction, and the relationship between formal work process management and underproduction is not statistically significant. Our analysis suggests that a FLOSS organization’s transformation into a more formal structure may face unintended consequences which must be carefully managed.
Thu 14 MarDisplayed time zone: Athens change
16:00 - 17:00 | |||
16:00 8mTalk | Engineering Formality and Software Risk in Debian Python Packages Short Papers and Posters Track Matthew Gaughan Northwestern University, Kaylea Champion University of Washington, Sohyeon Hwang Northwestern University Pre-print | ||
16:08 8mTalk | LogPM: Character-based Log Parser Benchmark Short Papers and Posters Track Shayan Hashemi , Jesse Nyyssölä University of Helsinki, Mika Mäntylä University of Helsinki and University of Oulu | ||
16:16 8mTalk | On the Hunt for Invalid Objects: Exploring the Object State Space with Program Mutants Short Papers and Posters Track | ||
16:24 8mTalk | OppropBERL: A GNN and BERT-style Reinforcement Learning-based Type Inference System Short Papers and Posters Track | ||
16:32 8mTalk | Debloating Feature-Rich Closed-Source Software Short Papers and Posters Track Zhen Huang DePaul University | ||
16:40 8mTalk | Web API Change-Proneness Prediction Short Papers and Posters Track Rediana Koçi Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Xavier Franch Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Petar Jovanovic Universitat Politècnica De Catalunya - Barcelona Tech, Alberto Abello Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya | ||
16:48 8mTalk | Towards Efficient Program Repair with APR Tools Based on Genetic Algorithms Short Papers and Posters Track |
Fri 15 MarDisplayed time zone: Athens change
16:00 - 17:00 | Software EcosystemsResearch Papers / Short Papers and Posters Track at LAPPI Chair(s): Anna-Katharina Wickert TU Darmstadt, Germany | ||
16:00 15mTalk | Sustainability Forecasting for Deep Learning Packages Research Papers Junxiao Han , Yunkun Wang Zhejiang University, Zhongxin Liu Zhejiang University, Lingfeng Bao Zhejiang University, Jiakun Liu Singapore Management University, David Lo Singapore Management University, Shuiguang Deng Zhejiang University; Alibaba-Zhejiang University Joint Institute of Frontier Technologies | ||
16:15 15mTalk | Use the Forks, Look! Visualizations for Exploring Fork Ecosystems Research Papers Siyue Chen Eindhoven University of Technology, Loek Cleophas Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and Stellenbosch University (SU), Sandro Schulze Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Jacob Krüger Eindhoven University of Technology | ||
16:30 7mTalk | Engineering Formality and Software Risk in Debian Python Packages Short Papers and Posters Track Matthew Gaughan Northwestern University, Kaylea Champion University of Washington, Sohyeon Hwang Northwestern University Pre-print |