On the use of static analysis to engage students with software quality improvement: An experience with PMD

Eman Abdullah Alomar, Salma Abdullah Alomar, Mohamed Wiem Mkaouer

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

    2 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    Static analysis tools are frequently used to scan the source code and detect deviations from the project coding guidelines. Given their importance, linters are often introduced to classrooms to educate students on how to detect and potentially avoid these code anti-patterns. However, little is known about their effectiveness in raising students' awareness, given that these linters tend to generate a large number of false positives. To increase the awareness of potential coding issues that violate coding standards, in this paper, we aim to reflect on our experience with teaching the use of static analysis for the purpose of evaluating its effectiveness in helping students with respect to improving software quality. This paper discusses the results of an experiment in the classroom, over a period of 3 academic semesters, involving 65 submissions that carried out code review activity of 690 rules using PMD. The results of the quantitative and qualitative analysis show that the presence of a set of PMD quality issues influences the acceptance or rejection of the issues, design, and best practices-related categories that take longer time to be resolved, and students acknowledge the potential of using static analysis tools during code review. Through this experiment, code review can turn into a vital part of the educational computing plan. We envision our findings enabling educators to support students with code review strategies in order to raise students' awareness about static analysis tools and scaffold their coding skills.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationProceedings - 2023 IEEE/ACM 45th International Conference on Software Engineering
    Subtitle of host publicationSoftware Engineering Education and Training, ICSE-SEET 2023
    Pages179-191
    Number of pages13
    ISBN (Electronic)9798350322590
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 2023
    Event45th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering Education and Training, ICSE-SEET 2023 - Melbourne, Australia
    Duration: 14 May 202320 May 2023

    Publication series

    NameProceedings - International Conference on Software Engineering
    ISSN (Print)0270-5257

    Conference

    Conference45th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering Education and Training, ICSE-SEET 2023
    Country/TerritoryAustralia
    CityMelbourne
    Period14/05/2320/05/23

    Keywords

    • education
    • quality
    • static analysis tool

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