A Classification of Software Modules into Library and Application Components in the Open-Source Field

Abstract

Software reuse significantly reduce the costs of software production in the field of open-source software (OSS) development and lead to produce more reliable software systems. Software metrics have been proposed as indicators of software quality factors such as reusability. However, few empirical research papers have validated the relationship between components reusability and software metrics. This research aims to validate Chidamber and Kemerer (CK) metrics as predictors of software reusability. In order to achieve this goal, an empirical study is conducted to validate metrics in classifying two groups of components: library (reuse-prone) and non-library (less reuseprone). A nearest neighbor’s technique is used to classify library and application components using object-oriented software metrics. The approach is applied to a number of library and application systems available online. The conducted nearest neighbors models have produced acceptable classification. The results provide evidence of using metrics as surrogates of software reusability when models are evaluated using Fmeasure. CK metrics can be used to measure component reuse-proneness and can be used to differentiate between library and application components. A nearest neighbor’s technique can be used to identify the reuse-prone components in open-source application.