NDLI: Impact of Limited Memory Resources

Content Provider	IEEE Xplore Digital Library
Author	Binkley, D. Lawrie, D. Maex, S. Morrell, C.
Copyright Year	2008
Description	Author affiliation: Loyola Coll., Baltimore, MD (Binkley, D.; Lawrie, D.; Maex, S.; Morrell, C.)
Abstract	Since early variable mnemonics were limited to as few as six to eight characters, many early programmers abbreviated concepts in their variable names. The past thirty years has seen a steady increase in permitted name length and, slowly, an increase in the actual length of identifiers. However, in theory names can be too long. Most obviously, in object-oriented programs, names often involve chaining of method calls and field selectors (e.g., class.firstAssignment().name.trim()). While longer names bring the potential for easier comprehension through more embedded sub-words, there are practical limits to length given limited human memory resources. The central hypothesis studied herein is that names used in modern programs have reached this limit. Statistical models derived from an experiment involving 158 programmers of varying degrees of experience show that longer names extracted from production code take more time to process and reduce correctness in a simple recall activity. This has clear negative implications for any attempt to read, and hence comprehend or manipulate, the source code of modern software. The experiment also evaluates the advantage of identifiers having ties to a programmer's persistent memory. Combined these results reinforce past proposals advocating the use of limited, consistent, and regular vocabulary in identifier names. In particular, good naming limits length and reduces the need for specialized vocabulary.
Starting Page	83
Ending Page	92
File Size	430284
Page Count	10
File Format	PDF
ISBN	9780769531762
ISSN	10928138
DOI	10.1109/ICPC.2008.31
Language	English
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Publisher Date	2008-06-10
Publisher Place	Netherlands
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Rights Holder	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Subject Keyword	Vocabulary Program comprehension Object oriented modeling Natural languages Humans Memory Educational institutions Proposals Programming profession Computer languages USA Councils Production Identifier names
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
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