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SOFTVIS
2010
ACM

An interactive ambient visualization for code smells

14 years 6 days ago
An interactive ambient visualization for code smells
Code smells are characteristics of software that indicate that code may have a design problem. Code smells have been proposed as a way for programmers to recognize the need for restructuring their software. Because code smells can go unnoticed while programmers are working, tools called smell detectors have been developed to alert programmers to the presence of smells in their code, and to help them understand the cause of those smells. In this paper, we propose a novel smell detector called Stench Blossom that provides an interactive ambient visualization designed to first give programmers a quick, high-level overview of the smells in their code, and then, if they wish, to help in understanding the sources of those code smells. We also describe a laboratory experiment with 12 programmers that tests several hypotheses about our tool. Our findings suggest that programmers can use our tool effectively to identify smells and to make refactoring judgements. This is partly because the tool...
Emerson R. Murphy-Hill, Andrew P. Black
Added 06 Dec 2010
Updated 06 Dec 2010
Type Conference
Year 2010
Where SOFTVIS
Authors Emerson R. Murphy-Hill, Andrew P. Black
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