NDLI: Influencing Factors on the Usability of API Classes and Methods

Content Provider	IEEE Xplore Digital Library
Author	Scheller, Thomas Kuhn, Eva
Copyright Year	2012
Abstract	Usability is an important quality attribute for APIs. To create APIs with good usability, appropriate measurement methods are needed. But currently available methods are cost- and time-expensive and the results are not objective and therefore hard to quantify. API design guidelines give a good overview about important usability factors, but lack a scientific basis. When looking at scientific API usability studies, only a very small area of API design has been researched yet. Existing results don't give enough basis for a good API usability measurement method. In this paper we identify influencing usability factors for the two most common concepts of APIs: classes and methods. We therefore conduct a study with 20 programmers and 2 different API variants and evaluate how differences between the APIs influence usability when instantiating classes and calling methods. The results build a basis for API usability measurement methods and should help design more usable APIs.
Starting Page	232
Ending Page	241
File Size	471292
Page Count	10
File Format	PDF
ISBN	9781467309127
DOI	10.1109/ECBS.2012.27
Language	English
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Publisher Date	2012-04-11
Publisher Place	Serbia
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Rights Holder	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Subject Keyword	Usability Java Production facilities Visualization Libraries Guidelines Programming Usability Studies API Usability API Design Usability Measurement
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Informing API Design through Usability Studies of API Design Choices: A Research Abstract

Useful, But Usable? Factors Affecting the Usability of APIs

Automatic evaluation of API usability using complexity metrics and visualizations

The Factory Pattern in API Design: A Usability Evaluation

Mapping the Space of API Design Decisions

Functional Classes Guide Use of Design Patterns in Implementing Mediators

Searching the State Space: A Qualitative Study of API Protocol Usability

Improving API documentation usability with knowledge pushing

BCC: Enhancing code completion for better API usability

Influencing Factors on the Usability of API Classes and Methods

Similar Documents

Informing API Design through Usability Studies of API Design Choices: A Research Abstract

Useful, But Usable? Factors Affecting the Usability of APIs

Automatic evaluation of API usability using complexity metrics and visualizations

The Factory Pattern in API Design: A Usability Evaluation

Mapping the Space of API Design Decisions

Functional Classes Guide Use of Design Patterns in Implementing Mediators

Searching the State Space: A Qualitative Study of API Protocol Usability

Improving API documentation usability with knowledge pushing

BCC: Enhancing code completion for better API usability

Influencing Factors on the Usability of API Classes and Methods