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The Chaos of Software Development
Helsinki, Finland September 01-September 02
DOI Bookmark: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/IWPSE.2003.1231214Sixth International Workshop on Princ ...
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Ahmed E. Hassan, University of Waterloo
Richard C. Holt, University of Waterloo
In this paper we present a new perspective on the problem of complexity in software, using sound mathematical concepts from information theory such as Shannon?s Entropy [31]. We study the complexity of the development process by examining the logs of the source control repository for large software projects. We hypothesize that the process of developing code is a good indicator of the current and future problems in the code and the project. A complex process will have negative affects on its outcome, such as producing a complex system or delaying releases. We validate our work by studying the evolution of six large open source projects (three operating systems, a window manager, an office productivity suite, and a database).
Citation:
Ahmed E. Hassan, Richard C. Holt, "The Chaos of Software Development," iwpse, pp.84, Sixth International Workshop on Principles of Software Evolution (IWPSE'03), 2003
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