Using n-grams to rapidly characterise the evolution of software code

Austen Rainer; Peter C.R. Lane; James A. Malcolm; Sven Bodo Scholz

doi:10.1109/ASEW.2008.4686320

Using n-grams to rapidly characterise the evolution of software code

Austen Rainer^*, Peter C.R. Lane, James A. Malcolm, Sven Bodo Scholz

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Text-based approaches to the analysis of software evolution are attractive because of the fine-grained, token-level comparisons they can generate. The use of such approaches has, however, been constrained by the lack of an efficient implementation. In this paper we demonstrate the ability of Ferret, which uses n-grams of 3 tokens, to characterise the evolution of software code. Ferret's implementation operates in almost linear time and is at least an order of magnitude faster than the diff tool. Ferret's output can be analysed to reveal several characteristics of software evolution, such as: the lifecycle of a single file, the degree of change between two files, and possible regression. In addition, the similarity scores produced by Ferret can be aggregated to measure larger parts of the system being analysed.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Aramis 2008 - 1st International Workshop on Automated engineeRing of Autonomous and runtiMe evolvIng Systems, and ASE2008 the 23rd IEEE/ACM Int. Conf. Automated Software Engineering
Pages	43-52
Number of pages	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/ASEW.2008.4686320
Publication status	Published - 01 Dec 2008
Event	Aramis 2008 - 1st International Workshop on Automated engineeRing of Autonomous and runtiMe evolvIng Systems In conjunction with ASE2008 the 23rd IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering - L'Aquila, Italy Duration: 16 Sep 2008 → 16 Sep 2008

Conference

Conference	Aramis 2008 - 1st International Workshop on Automated engineeRing of Autonomous and runtiMe evolvIng Systems In conjunction with ASE2008 the 23rd IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering
Country/Territory	Italy
City	L'Aquila
Period	16/09/2008 → 16/09/2008

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Computer Science Applications
Software
Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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10.1109/ASEW.2008.4686320

Cite this

Rainer, A., Lane, P. C. R., Malcolm, J. A., & Scholz, S. B. (2008). Using n-grams to rapidly characterise the evolution of software code. In Aramis 2008 - 1st International Workshop on Automated engineeRing of Autonomous and runtiMe evolvIng Systems, and ASE2008 the 23rd IEEE/ACM Int. Conf. Automated Software Engineering (pp. 43-52). [4686320] https://doi.org/10.1109/ASEW.2008.4686320

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title = "Using n-grams to rapidly characterise the evolution of software code",

abstract = "Text-based approaches to the analysis of software evolution are attractive because of the fine-grained, token-level comparisons they can generate. The use of such approaches has, however, been constrained by the lack of an efficient implementation. In this paper we demonstrate the ability of Ferret, which uses n-grams of 3 tokens, to characterise the evolution of software code. Ferret's implementation operates in almost linear time and is at least an order of magnitude faster than the diff tool. Ferret's output can be analysed to reveal several characteristics of software evolution, such as: the lifecycle of a single file, the degree of change between two files, and possible regression. In addition, the similarity scores produced by Ferret can be aggregated to measure larger parts of the system being analysed.",

author = "Austen Rainer and Lane, {Peter C.R.} and Malcolm, {James A.} and Scholz, {Sven Bodo}",

year = "2008",

month = dec,

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doi = "10.1109/ASEW.2008.4686320",

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booktitle = "Aramis 2008 - 1st International Workshop on Automated engineeRing of Autonomous and runtiMe evolvIng Systems, and ASE2008 the 23rd IEEE/ACM Int. Conf. Automated Software Engineering",

note = "Aramis 2008 - 1st International Workshop on Automated engineeRing of Autonomous and runtiMe evolvIng Systems In conjunction with ASE2008 the 23rd IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering ; Conference date: 16-09-2008 Through 16-09-2008",

}

Rainer, A, Lane, PCR, Malcolm, JA & Scholz, SB 2008, Using n-grams to rapidly characterise the evolution of software code. in Aramis 2008 - 1st International Workshop on Automated engineeRing of Autonomous and runtiMe evolvIng Systems, and ASE2008 the 23rd IEEE/ACM Int. Conf. Automated Software Engineering., 4686320, pp. 43-52, Aramis 2008 - 1st International Workshop on Automated engineeRing of Autonomous and runtiMe evolvIng Systems In conjunction with ASE2008 the 23rd IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering, L'Aquila, Italy, 16/09/2008. https://doi.org/10.1109/ASEW.2008.4686320

Using n-grams to rapidly characterise the evolution of software code. / Rainer, Austen; Lane, Peter C.R.; Malcolm, James A. et al.

Aramis 2008 - 1st International Workshop on Automated engineeRing of Autonomous and runtiMe evolvIng Systems, and ASE2008 the 23rd IEEE/ACM Int. Conf. Automated Software Engineering. 2008. p. 43-52 4686320.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

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T1 - Using n-grams to rapidly characterise the evolution of software code

AU - Rainer, Austen

AU - Lane, Peter C.R.

AU - Malcolm, James A.

AU - Scholz, Sven Bodo

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N2 - Text-based approaches to the analysis of software evolution are attractive because of the fine-grained, token-level comparisons they can generate. The use of such approaches has, however, been constrained by the lack of an efficient implementation. In this paper we demonstrate the ability of Ferret, which uses n-grams of 3 tokens, to characterise the evolution of software code. Ferret's implementation operates in almost linear time and is at least an order of magnitude faster than the diff tool. Ferret's output can be analysed to reveal several characteristics of software evolution, such as: the lifecycle of a single file, the degree of change between two files, and possible regression. In addition, the similarity scores produced by Ferret can be aggregated to measure larger parts of the system being analysed.

AB - Text-based approaches to the analysis of software evolution are attractive because of the fine-grained, token-level comparisons they can generate. The use of such approaches has, however, been constrained by the lack of an efficient implementation. In this paper we demonstrate the ability of Ferret, which uses n-grams of 3 tokens, to characterise the evolution of software code. Ferret's implementation operates in almost linear time and is at least an order of magnitude faster than the diff tool. Ferret's output can be analysed to reveal several characteristics of software evolution, such as: the lifecycle of a single file, the degree of change between two files, and possible regression. In addition, the similarity scores produced by Ferret can be aggregated to measure larger parts of the system being analysed.

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Using n-grams to rapidly characterise the evolution of software code

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