Abstract

Alsuhaibani et al. state that 60% of the participants do not have strict or any naming standards in the workplace and developers surveyed desired clear method naming standards to promote code comprehension [2]. Martin indi-cated identifier names are responsible for 90% of what makes software readable and understandable [25] . Borstler et al. indicated readability was important to developers at every level of experience but few report their academic influences being effectively leveraged to make quality identifiers [5]. Keuning et al. surveyed teachers in programming-related fields and found that code quality although important, was not a big part of their assessment of code submissions by students [21]. The importance of crafting high-quality identifier names is widely researched, given the prevalence of identifier naming as part of software developers’ day-to-day activities. Adjacent studies have observed developers in the industry, tested students in specific identifier naming aspects, and proposed identifier naming tool-based solutions. This thesis studies the perception of undergraduates concerning identifier naming practices. The goal of this study was to understand what student software developers know about identifier naming practices, and how their understanding of these practices evolved over their college career. The findings we present can be directly applied in educational settings so that students have an easier time 1) understanding the importance of identifier naming, 2) identifying important characteristics of identifier names they create, and 3) critically analyzing the naming practices of others. Alsuhaibani et al.’s paper on method naming is the influencing academic paper for this study [2]. The grammar patterns, naming style, and the 10-part standard for naming a method identifier were influential in the creation of our survey. We discuss the results of the multi-question survey of 138 students and the findings as they relate to 3 research questions we have curated exposing a diverse experience of identifier naming education throughout the years. In the survey, we did confirm that 73% of students desired more in-classroom education on identifier naming practices. Over 90% of students surveyed agreed that identifier name quality is important to the software development process.

Publication Date

5-8-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Software Engineering (MS)

Department, Program, or Center

Software Engineering, Department of

College

Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences

Advisor

Christian D. Newman

Advisor/Committee Member

Yiming Tang

Advisor/Committee Member

Scott Hawker

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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