Smells in block-based programming languages

Felienne Hermans, Kathryn T. Stolee, David Hoepelman

Research output: Chapter in Book / Report / Conference proceedingConference contributionAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Code smells were originally designed for object-oriented code, but in recent years, have been applied to end-user languages, including spreadsheets and Yahoo! Pipes. In this paper, we explore code smells in block-based end-user programming languages aimed at education. Specifically, we explore the occurrence of smells in two educational languages not previously targeted by smell detection and refactoring research: LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 and Microsoft's Kodu. The results of this exploration show that object-oriented-inspired smells indeed occur in educational end-user languages and are present in 88% and 93% of the EV3 and Kodu programs, respectively. Most commonly we find that programs are plagued with lazy class, duplication, and dead code smells, with duplication smells being present in nearly two-thirds of programs in both languages.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2016 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing, VL/HCC 2016
EditorsAlan Blackwell, Beryl Plimmer, Gem Stapleton
PublisherIEEE Computer Society
Pages68-72
Number of pages5
ISBN (Electronic)9781509002528
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 8 Nov 2016
Externally publishedYes
Event2016 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing, VL/HCC 2016 - Cambridge, United Kingdom
Duration: 4 Sept 20168 Sept 2016

Publication series

NameProceedings of IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing, VL/HCC
Volume2016-November
ISSN (Print)1943-6092
ISSN (Electronic)1943-6106

Conference

Conference2016 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing, VL/HCC 2016
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityCambridge
Period4/09/168/09/16

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