Content area

Abstract

The dependency graph (DG) of a software project offers valuable insights for identifying its key components and has been leveraged in numerous studies. However, there is a lack of reusable tools for DG extraction. Existing tools are either outdated and difficult to configure or fail to provide accurate analysis. This study introduces RefExpo, a reusable DG extraction tool that supports multiple languages such as Java, Python, and JavaScript. RefExpo is a plugin based on IntelliJ, a well-maintained and reputed IDE. We also compile an initial version of our dataset, consisting of 20 Java and Python projects. RefExpo's validity is evaluated at two levels: specific language features and comparisons against other tools, referred to as micro and macro levels. Our results show RefExpo achieves 92\% and 100\% recall on micro test suites Judge and PyCG for Python and Java, respectively. In macro-level experiments, RefExpo outperformed existing tools by 31\% and 7\% in finding unique and shared results. The installable version of RefExpo is available on the IntelliJ marketplace, and a short video describing its functionality is available on YouTube.

Details

1009240
Identifier / keyword
Title
RefExpo: Unveiling Software Project Structures through Advanced Dependency Graph Extraction
Publication title
arXiv.org; Ithaca
Publication year
2024
Publication date
Dec 4, 2024
Section
Computer Science
Publisher
Cornell University Library, arXiv.org
Source
arXiv.org
Place of publication
Ithaca
Country of publication
United States
University/institution
Cornell University Library arXiv.org
e-ISSN
2331-8422
Source type
Working Paper
Language of publication
English
Document type
Working Paper
Publication history
 
 
Online publication date
2024-12-06
Milestone dates
2024-07-02 (Submission v1); 2024-12-04 (Submission v2)
Publication history
 
 
   First posting date
06 Dec 2024
ProQuest document ID
3075791139
Document URL
https://www.proquest.com/working-papers/refexpo-unveiling-software-project-structures/docview/3075791139/se-2?accountid=208611
Full text outside of ProQuest
Copyright
© 2024. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.
Last updated
2024-12-07
Database
ProQuest One Academic