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A comparison of program comprehension by procedural and object-oriented programmers
Abstract
Limited research exists related to the cognitive processes underlying program maintenance and the variations between these processes in different programming paradigms. The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify and examine longitudinally the cognitive processes underlying program comprehension during maintenance. The goals of the research were three-fold: (1) to study the mental models being constructed and utilized to guide comprehension during program maintenance, (2) to investigate the comprehension strategies employed when performing maintenance over time, and (3) to identify differences in the mental models and comprehension strategies used by procedural and object-oriented programmers. Thirty expert procedural and object-oriented programmers studied and then performed three program modifications during two sessions which were a week apart. Subjects first studied the program materials, then answered a set of questions designed to elicit the categories of knowledge present in program text. Next three program modifications were completed, one during the first session and the remaining two during the second session. Last, a second set of comprehension questions was completed. The results suggested that procedural and object-oriented programmers both construct and utilize a mixed mental model of the program which contains both program and domain-based information. The initial model of the object-oriented subjects was more global and related more closely to the problem domain while the procedural subjects' model was more closely related to the details of the program text. After performing the modifications, procedural subjects' models remained essentially the same while object-oriented subjects' models became more balanced. Object-oriented programmers appear to use a top-down comprehension strategy which relies heavily on scanning behavior. Procedural programmers appear to employ a bottom-up strategy. The results suggest that regardless of paradigm, expert programmers eventually build a systematic, rather than a localized, view of the program. Little difference in modification performance was observed between the two paradigms.
Subject Area
Computer science|Cognitive therapy
Recommended Citation
Corritore, Cynthia L, "A comparison of program comprehension by procedural and object-oriented programmers" (1996). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9715959.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9715959