arrow
返回

Detecting outdated code element references in software repository documentation

delete2023-11-21
delete1
delete
OA
AI
W
Wen Siang Tan *
M
Markus Wagner
C
Christoph Treude
DOI:10.1007/s10664-023-10397-6delete
delete原文链接
delete原文求助
delete分享
delete收藏
摘要

摘要

En 中文
Outdated documentation is a pervasive problem in software development, preventing effective use of software, and misleading users and developers alike. We posit that one possible reason why documentation becomes out of sync so easily is that developers are unaware of when their source code modifications render the documentation obsolete. Ensuring that the documentation is always in sync with the source code takes considerable effort, especially for large codebases. To address this situation, we propose an approach that can automatically detect code element references that survive in the documentation after all source code instances have been deleted. In this work, we analysed over 3,000 GitHub projects and found that most projects contain at least one outdated code element reference at some point in their history. We submitted GitHub issues to real-world projects containing outdated references detected by our approach, some of which have already led to documentation fixes. As an initiative toward keeping documentation in software repositories up-to-date, we have made our implementation available for developers to scan their GitHub projects for outdated code element references.
Keyword:
Software repositories
Outdated documentation
Outdated references
Code elements

期刊

Empirical Software Engineering 封面图
Empirical Software Engineering
IF:
3.6
论文数:
2.0K
被引数:
5.3K

机构

M
Monash University
学者数:
5.4W
论文数: 5.4W
被引数: 79
U
University of Adelaide
学者数:
2.3W
论文数: 2.4W
被引数: 4.2W
U
university of melbourne
学者数:
5.7W
论文数: 5.4W
被引数: 69
学者 查看更多机构
引用论文

引用论文

Let Me In: Guidelines for the Successful Onboarding of Newcomers to Open Source Projects
err2019-07-01
err65
errOAAI
errSteinmacher, Igor; Treude, Christoph; Gerosa, Marco Aurelio
err分享
err收藏
Free posterior tibial perforator flap: Anatomy and a report of 6 cases
err1996-01-01
err0
PREAI
errLeung-Kim Hung; Jie Lao; Pak-Cheong Ho
err分享
err收藏
Categorizing the Content of GitHub README Files
err2018-10-12
err77
errOAAI
errPrana, Gede Artha Azriadi; Treude, Christoph; Thung, Ferdian; Atapattu, Thushari; Lo, David
err分享
err收藏
How API Documentation Fails
err2015-07-01
err136
PREAI
errUddin, Gias; Robillard, Martin P.
err分享
err收藏
Investigation of coal fueled chemical looping combustion using Fe3O4 as oxygen carrier: Influence of variables
err2010-05-16
err0
PREAI
errXiaoyan Sun; Wenguo Xiang; Sha Wang; Wendong Tian; Xiang Xu; Yanji Xu; Yunhan Xiao
err分享
err收藏
Radially dilating trocar system for open laparoscopic access
err1999-10-01
err0
errOAAI
errPeter G Schulam; Sean P Hedican; Steven G Docimo
err分享
err收藏
err分享
err收藏
Surgical Correction of Female Epispadias
err2017-08-11
err0
PREAI
errPanayotis P. Kelalis; Stephen A. Kramer
err分享
err收藏
学者 查看更多内容