A Source Level Empirical Study of Features and Their Interactions in Variable Software (bibtex)
by Stefan Fischer, Lukas Linsbauer, Roberto E. Lopez-Herrejon and Alexander Egyed
Abstract:
Robust and effective support for the detection and management of features and their interactions is crucial for many software development tasks but has proven to be an elusive goal despite the extensive research and practice on the subject. Providing the required support becomes even more challenging with variable software whereby multiple variants of a system and their features must be collectively considered. An important premise to provide better support for feature interactions in variable systems is the need of a deeper understanding on how features interact at different levels starting from the source level. In this context, recent work has looked at feature interactions from different angles and for different purposes, for instance for developing performance models, extracting interfaces for maintenance or describing feature evolution patterns. However, there is a gap in understanding how features interact in fact at the source level in contrast with how features ought to interact according to variability models that describe the valid combinations of features in variable software systems. In this paper we perform an empirical study to explore this gap. We use seven case studies, implemented in Java and C, totalling over nine million LoC, and analysed over seven thousand feature interactions. Our study revealed important inconsistencies between how feature interactions occur at source level and how they are modeled, and corroborated that the majority of source level interactions involve less than three features. We discuss the implications of our findings and avenues for further research.
Reference:
Stefan Fischer, Lukas Linsbauer, Roberto E. Lopez-Herrejon and Alexander Egyed: A Source Level Empirical Study of Features and Their Interactions in Variable Software, in 16th International Working Conference on Source Code Analysis and Manipulation, SCAM 2016, Raleigh, NC, USA, October 2-3, 2016, 2016.
Bibtex Entry:
@Conference{DBLP:conf/scam/0006LLE16,
  author    = {Stefan Fischer and Lukas Linsbauer and Roberto E. Lopez{-}Herrejon and Alexander Egyed},
  title     = {A Source Level Empirical Study of Features and Their Interactions in Variable Software},
  booktitle = {16th International Working Conference on Source Code Analysis and Manipulation, SCAM 2016, Raleigh, NC, USA, October 2-3, 2016},
  year      = {2016},
  pages     = {197--206},
  abstract  = {Robust and effective support for the detection and management of features
	and their interactions is crucial for many software development tasks
	but has proven to be an elusive goal despite the extensive research
	and practice on the subject. Providing the required support becomes
	even more challenging with variable software whereby multiple variants
	of a system and their features must be collectively considered. An
	important premise to provide better support for feature interactions
	in variable systems is the need of a deeper understanding on how
	features interact at different levels starting from the source level.
	In this context, recent work has looked at feature interactions from
	different angles and for different purposes, for instance for developing
	performance models, extracting interfaces for maintenance or describing
	feature evolution patterns. However, there is a gap in understanding
	how features interact in fact at the source level in contrast with
	how features ought to interact according to variability models that
	describe the valid combinations of features in variable software
	systems. In this paper we perform an empirical study to explore this
	gap. We use seven case studies, implemented in Java and C, totalling
	over nine million LoC, and analysed over seven thousand feature interactions.
	Our study revealed important inconsistencies between how feature
	interactions occur at source level and how they are modeled, and
	corroborated that the majority of source level interactions involve
	less than three features. We discuss the implications of our findings
	and avenues for further research.},
  bibsource = {dblp computer science bibliography, http://dblp.org},
  biburl    = {http://dblp.uni-trier.de/rec/bib/conf/scam/0006LLE16},
  doi       = {10.1109/SCAM.2016.16},
  file      = {:Conferences\\SCAM 2016 - A Source Level Empirical Study of Features and Their Interactions in Variable Software\\A Source Level Empirical Study of Features and Their Interactions in Variable Software-preprint.pdf:PDF},
  keywords  = {FWF P25289, FWF P25513},
  timestamp = {Tue, 20 Dec 2016 14:41:08 +0100},
  url       = {http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/SCAM.2016.16},
}
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