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On some end-user programming constructs and their understandability
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DOI：10.1016/j.jss.2018.03.064.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Context: End-user programming is becoming more and more important. However, existing programming paradigms and the languages based on them seem far-removed from what end-user programmers would need, especially in the area of Management Information. Objective: To evaluate the understandability of a set of programming constructs based on the spreadsheet metaphor from the point of view of end-user programmers in the context of Management Information. The examined set comprises single assignment with exemplary computations, data-driven iterations, selection by colours, and read-write heads (we refer to this as Board Programming). Method: A series of experiments was performed with students of Management Engineering, split into an experimental group and a control group. Each participant was given a piece of code expressed either with the proposed programming construct (experimental group) or its classical counterpart (control group). Their task was to predict the results. For the purpose of evaluation, the FACT indicators of understandability (First attempt failure rate, Attempt number, Cancellation ratio, prediction Time) were proposed and measured. Results: Three of the four examined features, i.e. single assignment with exemplary computations, data driven iterations, and read-write heads, proved to increase understandability of the chosen programs with regard to three out of the four FACT indicators, and these results were statistically significant. Selection by colours was not as effective as expected: the FACT indicator values were improved by that feature, but the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusions: The described programming constructs appear to be an interesting option when designing an end-user programming language for domain experts in the field of Management Information. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
End-user programming
Code understanding
Spreadsheets
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