Over-exposed classes in Java: An empirical study

Autores
Vidal, Santiago Agustín; Bergel, Alexandre; Diaz Pace, Jorge Andres; Marcos, Claudia Andrea
Año de publicación
2016
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Java access modifiers regulate interactions among software components. In particular, class modifiers specify which classes from a component are publicly exposed and therefore belong to the component public interface. Restricting the accessibility as specified by a programmer is key to ensure a proper software modularity. It has been said that failing to do so is likely to produce maintenance problems, poor system quality, and architecture decay. However, how developers uses class access modifiers or how inadequate access modifiers affect software systems has not been investigated yet in the literature. In this work, we empirically analyze the use of class access modifiers across a collection of 15 Java libraries and 15 applications, totaling over 3.6M lines of code. We have found that an average of 25% of classes are over-exposed, i.e., classes defined with an accessibility that is broader than necessary. A number of code patterns involving over-exposed classes have been formalized, characterizing programmers' habits. Furthermore, we propose an Eclipse plugin to make component public interfaces match with the programmer's intent.
Fil: Vidal, Santiago Agustín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software; Argentina
Fil: Bergel, Alexandre. Universidad de Chile; Chile
Fil: Diaz Pace, Jorge Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software; Argentina
Fil: Marcos, Claudia Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas; Argentina
Materia
Class Accessibility
Java Systems
Modularity
Over-Exposed Classes
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/58571
Acceder
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oai_identifier_str oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/58571
network_acronym_str CONICETDig
repository_id_str 3498
network_name_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
spelling Over-exposed classes in Java: An empirical studyVidal, Santiago AgustínBergel, AlexandreDiaz Pace, Jorge AndresMarcos, Claudia AndreaClass AccessibilityJava SystemsModularityOver-Exposed Classeshttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.2https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1Java access modifiers regulate interactions among software components. In particular, class modifiers specify which classes from a component are publicly exposed and therefore belong to the component public interface. Restricting the accessibility as specified by a programmer is key to ensure a proper software modularity. It has been said that failing to do so is likely to produce maintenance problems, poor system quality, and architecture decay. However, how developers uses class access modifiers or how inadequate access modifiers affect software systems has not been investigated yet in the literature. In this work, we empirically analyze the use of class access modifiers across a collection of 15 Java libraries and 15 applications, totaling over 3.6M lines of code. We have found that an average of 25% of classes are over-exposed, i.e., classes defined with an accessibility that is broader than necessary. A number of code patterns involving over-exposed classes have been formalized, characterizing programmers' habits. Furthermore, we propose an Eclipse plugin to make component public interfaces match with the programmer's intent.Fil: Vidal, Santiago Agustín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software; ArgentinaFil: Bergel, Alexandre. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Diaz Pace, Jorge Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software; ArgentinaFil: Marcos, Claudia Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas; ArgentinaPergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2016-11info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/58571Vidal, Santiago Agustín; Bergel, Alexandre; Diaz Pace, Jorge Andres; Marcos, Claudia Andrea; Over-exposed classes in Java: An empirical study; Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd; Computer Languages Systems & Structures; 46; 11-2016; 1-191477-8424CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.cl.2016.04.001info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477842415300531info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2026-02-26T10:06:28Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/58571instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982026-02-26 10:06:28.554CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Over-exposed classes in Java: An empirical study
title Over-exposed classes in Java: An empirical study
spellingShingle Over-exposed classes in Java: An empirical study
Vidal, Santiago Agustín
Class Accessibility
Java Systems
Modularity
Over-Exposed Classes
title_short Over-exposed classes in Java: An empirical study
title_full Over-exposed classes in Java: An empirical study
title_fullStr Over-exposed classes in Java: An empirical study
title_full_unstemmed Over-exposed classes in Java: An empirical study
title_sort Over-exposed classes in Java: An empirical study
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Vidal, Santiago Agustín
Bergel, Alexandre
Diaz Pace, Jorge Andres
Marcos, Claudia Andrea
author Vidal, Santiago Agustín
author_facet Vidal, Santiago Agustín
Bergel, Alexandre
Diaz Pace, Jorge Andres
Marcos, Claudia Andrea
author_role author
author2 Bergel, Alexandre
Diaz Pace, Jorge Andres
Marcos, Claudia Andrea
author2_role author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Class Accessibility
Java Systems
Modularity
Over-Exposed Classes
topic Class Accessibility
Java Systems
Modularity
Over-Exposed Classes
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.2
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Java access modifiers regulate interactions among software components. In particular, class modifiers specify which classes from a component are publicly exposed and therefore belong to the component public interface. Restricting the accessibility as specified by a programmer is key to ensure a proper software modularity. It has been said that failing to do so is likely to produce maintenance problems, poor system quality, and architecture decay. However, how developers uses class access modifiers or how inadequate access modifiers affect software systems has not been investigated yet in the literature. In this work, we empirically analyze the use of class access modifiers across a collection of 15 Java libraries and 15 applications, totaling over 3.6M lines of code. We have found that an average of 25% of classes are over-exposed, i.e., classes defined with an accessibility that is broader than necessary. A number of code patterns involving over-exposed classes have been formalized, characterizing programmers' habits. Furthermore, we propose an Eclipse plugin to make component public interfaces match with the programmer's intent.
Fil: Vidal, Santiago Agustín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software; Argentina
Fil: Bergel, Alexandre. Universidad de Chile; Chile
Fil: Diaz Pace, Jorge Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software; Argentina
Fil: Marcos, Claudia Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas; Argentina
description Java access modifiers regulate interactions among software components. In particular, class modifiers specify which classes from a component are publicly exposed and therefore belong to the component public interface. Restricting the accessibility as specified by a programmer is key to ensure a proper software modularity. It has been said that failing to do so is likely to produce maintenance problems, poor system quality, and architecture decay. However, how developers uses class access modifiers or how inadequate access modifiers affect software systems has not been investigated yet in the literature. In this work, we empirically analyze the use of class access modifiers across a collection of 15 Java libraries and 15 applications, totaling over 3.6M lines of code. We have found that an average of 25% of classes are over-exposed, i.e., classes defined with an accessibility that is broader than necessary. A number of code patterns involving over-exposed classes have been formalized, characterizing programmers' habits. Furthermore, we propose an Eclipse plugin to make component public interfaces match with the programmer's intent.
publishDate 2016
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2016-11
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/58571
Vidal, Santiago Agustín; Bergel, Alexandre; Diaz Pace, Jorge Andres; Marcos, Claudia Andrea; Over-exposed classes in Java: An empirical study; Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd; Computer Languages Systems & Structures; 46; 11-2016; 1-19
1477-8424
CONICET Digital
CONICET
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/58571
identifier_str_mv Vidal, Santiago Agustín; Bergel, Alexandre; Diaz Pace, Jorge Andres; Marcos, Claudia Andrea; Over-exposed classes in Java: An empirical study; Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd; Computer Languages Systems & Structures; 46; 11-2016; 1-19
1477-8424
CONICET Digital
CONICET
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.cl.2016.04.001
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477842415300531
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
reponame_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
collection CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname_str Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.name.fl_str_mv CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.mail.fl_str_mv dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar
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score 13.176822

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