Documenting software systems with views III: towards a task-oriented classification of program visualization techniques

ABSTRACT

Documentation has long played a key role in aiding program understanding. Graphical forms of documentation rely on software visualization techniques to make complicated information easier to understand. However, it is an open question exactly which types of graphical documentation are most suitable for which types of program understanding tasks (and in which specific usage contexts). This paper describes preliminary work towards a task-oriented classification of program visualization techniques. The classification is currently descriptive in nature, and divides the visualization techniques into three classes (static, interactive, and editable) based on the level of end-user interaction with the generated graphical documentation. The primary advantage of a task-oriented classification is that it will ultimately map common activities related to program understanding to specific types of software visualization. A summary of how the descriptive classification was used to structure the selection of software visualization tools to support program understanding in an industrial context is provided.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.7 Distribution, Maintenance, and Enhancement
          Subjects: Documentation

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.7 Distribution, Maintenance, and Enhancement
          Subjects: Restructuring, reverse engineering, and reengineering

General Terms:
Documentation, Human Factors

Keywords:
documentation, program understanding, visualization