Are Objects That Important? Effects of Expertise and Familiarity on Classification of Object-Oriented Code

Abstract

This article reports a study of the use of card sorts in the categorization of fragments of object-oriented (OO) programs. We are interested in the way in which programmers think about code so that we might attempt to provide support for browsing and reuse activities within OO environments. As a consequence, we have been exploring the use of knowledge acquisition techniques in order to elicit programmers’ knowledge about code. The study reported here required expert Simon P. Davies, a psychologist, is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham; he is interested in the psychology of design and in the development of expertise in programming and other complex domains. David J. © 1995, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.