A Controlled Experiment Measuring the Effect of Procedure Argument Type Checking on Programmer Productivity
• Technical Report
Publisher
Software Engineering Institute
CMU/SEI Report Number
CMU/SEI-96-TR-014DOI (Digital Object Identifier)
10.1184/R1/6571637.v1Abstract
Type checking is considered an important mechanism for detecting programming errors, especially interface errors. This report describes an experiment to assess the error-detection capabilities of static intermodule type checking.
The experiment uses ANSI C and Kernighan & Ritchie (K&R) C. The relevant difference is that the ANSI C compiler checks module interfaces (i.e., the parameter lists of calls to external functions), whereas K&R C does not. The experiment employs a counterbalanced design in which each subject writes two non-trivial programs that interface with a complex library (Motif). Each subject writes one program in ANSI C and one in K&R C. The input to each compiler run is saved and manually analyzed for errors.
Results indicate that delivered ANSI C programs contain significantly fewer interface errors than delivered K&R C programs. Furthermore, after subjects have gained some familiarity with the interface they are using, ANSI C programmers remove errors faster and are more productive (measured in both time to completion and functionality implemented).
This report describes the design, setup, and results of the experiment, including complete source code and error lists.
Cite This Technical Report
Prechelt, L., & Tichy, W. (1996, June 1). A Controlled Experiment Measuring the Effect of Procedure Argument Type Checking on Programmer Productivity. (Technical Report CMU/SEI-96-TR-014). Retrieved December 31, 2024, from https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6571637.v1.
@techreport{prechelt_1996,
author={Prechelt, Lutz and Tichy, Walter},
title={A Controlled Experiment Measuring the Effect of Procedure Argument Type Checking on Programmer Productivity},
month={{Jun},
year={{1996},
number={{CMU/SEI-96-TR-014},
howpublished={Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute's Digital Library},
url={https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6571637.v1},
note={Accessed: 2024-Dec-31}
}
Prechelt, Lutz, and Walter Tichy. "A Controlled Experiment Measuring the Effect of Procedure Argument Type Checking on Programmer Productivity." (CMU/SEI-96-TR-014). Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute's Digital Library. Software Engineering Institute, June 1, 1996. https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6571637.v1.
L. Prechelt, and W. Tichy, "A Controlled Experiment Measuring the Effect of Procedure Argument Type Checking on Programmer Productivity," Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute's Digital Library. Software Engineering Institute, Technical Report CMU/SEI-96-TR-014, 1-Jun-1996 [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6571637.v1. [Accessed: 31-Dec-2024].
Prechelt, Lutz, and Walter Tichy. "A Controlled Experiment Measuring the Effect of Procedure Argument Type Checking on Programmer Productivity." (Technical Report CMU/SEI-96-TR-014). Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute's Digital Library, Software Engineering Institute, 1 Jun. 1996. https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6571637.v1. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
Prechelt, Lutz; & Tichy, Walter. A Controlled Experiment Measuring the Effect of Procedure Argument Type Checking on Programmer Productivity. CMU/SEI-96-TR-014. Software Engineering Institute. 1996. https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/6571637.v1