Abstract
Variable and function names are extremely important for program comprehension. It is therefore also important to study how developers select names. But controlled experiments on naming are hindered by the need to describe to experimental subjects what it is they need to name. Words appearing in these descriptions may then find their way into the names, leading to a bias in the results. We suggest that this problem can be alleviated by using emojis or other small graphics in lieu of key words in the descriptions. A replication of previous work on naming, this time including such emojis and graphics, indeed led to a more diverse and less biased choice of words in the names than when using English descriptions.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 29th International Conference on Program Comprehension, ICPC 2021 |
Publisher | IEEE Computer Society |
Pages | 347-357 |
Number of pages | 11 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781665414036 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2021 |
Event | 29th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Program Comprehension, ICPC 2021 - Virtual, Online Duration: 20 May 2021 → 21 May 2021 |
Publication series
Name | IEEE International Conference on Program Comprehension |
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Volume | 2021-May |
Conference
Conference | 29th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Program Comprehension, ICPC 2021 |
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City | Virtual, Online |
Period | 20/05/21 → 21/05/21 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2021 IEEE.
Keywords
- Variable and function naming
- accessibility bias
- experimental methodology