Abstract
Studies of eye movements during source code reading have supported the idea that reading source code differs fundamentally from reading natural text. The paper analyzed an existing data set of natural language and source code eye movement data using the E-Z reader model of eye movement control. The results show that the E-Z reader model can be used with natural text and with source code where it provides good predictions of eye movement duration. This result is confirmed by comparing model predictions to eye-movement data from this experiment and calculating the correlation score for each metric. Finally, it was found that gaze duration is influenced by token frequency in code and in natural text. The frequency effect is less pronounced on first fixation duration and single fixation duration. An eye movement control model for source code reading may open the door for tools in education and the industry to enhance program comprehension.
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