An empirical comparison of static and dynamic type systems on API usage in the presence of an IDE: Java vs. Groovy with eclipse

Abstract

Several studies have concluded that static type systems offer an advantage over dynamic type systems for programming tasks involving the discovery of a new API. However, these studies did not take into account modern IDE features; the advanced navigation and code completion techniques available in modern IDEs could drastically alter their conclusions. This study describes an experiment that compares the usage of an unknown API using Java and Groovy using the IDE Eclipse. It turns out that the previous finding that static type systems improve the usability of an unknown API still holds, even in the presence of a modern IDE.