README.md

Documentation

Thematics

This documentation is organized by thematics :

• The definition of Cognitive Complexity
• The set of code snippets
• The notion of understanding
• The bugs
• Simplification technics
• The mean developer
• The systems
• The experimental protocols

You will find below a glossary with the definitions of all the concepts used in this project.

Propositions and conjectures

Some results ensue directly from the definitions of the different concepts described in this documentation and don't need experiments in the real world. We call them propositions.

Other results are probably true, but must be calculated or measured in the real world. These results need the help of experimental studies to demonstrate their validity. We call them conjectures.

Table of contents

Cognitive Complexity

• Definitions
  • Cognitive complexity
  • Cognitive complexity metric
  • Relation between cognitive complexity and debugging
  • Minimal cognitive complexity
• Refactoring
  • Modification
  • Refactor
  • Simplification

Code snippets

• Programming language
  • Alphabet and characters
  • Programming language
  • Formal language
  • Formal grammar
  • Syntax
  • Separator
  • String
  • File
• The set of code snippets
  • Code snippet (large definition)
  • Code snippet (strict definition), context-sensitive valid code snippet, context-free code snippet, validatable code snippet
  • Line of code
  • Module
• Implementation and behavior
  • Implementation
  • Behavior
• References
  • Reference, identifier
  • Description, declaration and implementation of a reference
  • Exported and imported references
  • Exposed and hidden references
  • Behavior of a reference
  • Stub
  • Mock
  • Deterministic stub
  • Deterministic reference
• Roles and descriptions
  • Role of references
  • Quality level of descriptions
• Unit tests
  • Unit test
• Operations on code snippets
  • Addition
  • Propositions and conjectures

The notion of understanding

• Introduction
• Behavior
  • Behavior prediction and understanding
• Role
  • Role understanding of declared or imported references
  • Description understanding, implementation understanding
  • Reference understanding
• Code snippets
  • Understanding of code snippets

The simplification technics

• Remove the dead code
• Clarify identifiers
• Add comments
• Typing
• Logic extraction
• Remove line-breaks

Chain of responsibilities

• Feature, product, task
  • Feature
  • Product
  • Task
• Prime contractor, stakeholders, specs and chain of responsibilities
  • Prime contractor
  • Stakeholders
  • Specs
  • Immediate superior, subordinates
  • Chain of responsibilities
  • Job

The bugs

• Definitions
  • Bug of a task or feature
  • Bug of a reference
  • Bug of a code snippet
• Sources of bugs
  • Misunderstanding
  • Wrong implementation
  • Wrong reuse
• Debugging process
  • Bug discovering
  • Bug understanding
• Bugs and cognitive complexity

The mean developer

• Introduction
• Skills
  • Competence
  • Skill
• Developers
  • Human factor
  • Experience
  • Minimal experience
  • Developer
  • Minimal experience relative to a stack
  • Minimal skill relative to a code snippet
• The mean developer
  • Mean developer
  • Mean developer relative to a competence
  • Mean developer relative to a code snippet
• The understanding speed
  • Time of understanding
  • Understanding speed
  • Expertise level

Systems

• System
  • Hardware
  • File
  • Module
  • Software
  • Program
  • System
  • Data
  • Process
  • State of the system
  • Behavior of the system
• Stack
  • Software component
  • Framework
  • Stack
  • Stack of a code snippet

The experimental protocols

• Methodology

Glossary

• Addition (of two code snippets)
• Alphabet
• Behavior (of a code snippet)
• Behavior (of a reference)
• Behavior (prediction of)
• Behavior (understanding of)
• Bug (of a reference or code snippet)
• Bug (of a task or feature)
• Bug (misunderstanding)
• Bug (wrong implementation)
• Bug (wrong reuse)
• Chain of responsibilities
• Chain of responsibilities (immediate superior, subordinate)
• Character
• Code snippet (context-sensitive valid)
• Code snippet (context-free valid)
• Code snippet (large definition)
• Code snippet (strict definition)
• Code snippet (understanding)
• Code snippet (validatable)
• Cognitive complexity
• Cognitive complexity (metric)
• Cognitive complexity (minimal)
• Competence
• Data
• Description (description of)
• Description (quality level)
• Developer
• Developer (mean developer)
• Developer (relative to a code snippet)
• Developer (relative to a competence)
• Experience
• Experience
• Experience (minimal)
• Experience (relative to a stack)
• Expertise level
• Feature
• File
• Formal grammar
• Formal language
• Hardware
• Human factor
• Job
• Line of code
• Implementation (of a feature)
• Implementation (of a code snippet)
• Mock
• Module
• Prime contractor
• Process
• Product
• Program
• Programming language
• Refactor
• Refactor (modification)
• Refactor (simplification)
• Reference
• Reference (declaration of)
• Reference (description of)
• Reference (deterministic)
• Reference (exported)
• Reference (exposed)
• Reference (hidden)
• Reference (identifier of)
• Reference (imported)
• Reference (implementation of)
• Reference (role understanding)
• Role (of a reference)
• Role (in the context of a given code snippet)
• Role (understanding)
• Separator
• Skill
• Skill (minimal skill relative to a code snippet)
• Skill (Minimal skill relative to a competence)
• Software
• Specs
• Stack
• Stakeholder
• Stakeholder (job of)
• String
• Stub
• Stub (deterministic)
• Syntax
• System
• System (behavior of)
• System (state of)
• Task
• Understanding (of code snippets)
• Understanding (of reference behavior)
• Understanding (of reference role)
• Understanding (speed of)
• Understanding (time of)
• Unit test