Abstract
Program comprehension is considered to be a two-stage process. The two stages broadly consist of formation and use of a mental representation of the program. Based on this two-stage process, five features of the program are identified as factors contributing to the psychological complexity of the program. The identified factors are: meaningfulness, size, control structure, data structure and execution structure. This article reports consolidated results of a series of experiments conducted to establish and to study the integrated effect of these factors on program comprehension. The two experiments in the series are discussed in detail. The results of the judgemental experiment indicate that program size, control structure, data structure and execution structure contribute independently to perceived program complexity and their contributions to complexity are different. The results of experiments, including the two described in the paper, on program comprehension confirm that the above four algorithm-dependent factors affect program understanding and hence contribute to the psychological complexity of the program.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
