Abstract
Use of an inductive processor to convert example-solutions into implied logic resulted in errors of omission no different from that which occurs with use of program code; however, such a technique provided a significant reduction in errors of commission. Feedback-aids in conjunction with example-solutions enabled the programmer to engage in more complex problems with few errors of commission; those aids, to be most useful, need to include the implied logic explicity presented to the user. Two participant groups (programmers and bookkeepers/accountants) working with three levels of problem complexity and three levels of processor complexity were used. The experimental task employed in this study required specification of a logic for solution of a Navy task force problem. This task involved choosing ships from a ship list which identified the ship type, the transiting time (the time required for the ship to get from its present position to the desired site), and stationing time (the number of days the ship can remain on station with available provisions). In addition to this specification of ship combinations the participants had to specify by the example-solution the range of transiting and stationing times required. In another related experiment, participants developed FORTRAN IV code to solve the same problems. In the population of programmers who participated in these experiments (professional programmers), years of experience, years of higher education (in software), number of programs written and number of application areas experienced did not have as significant an effect on performance as did the number of programming languages known and the number of operating systems used. The number of programming languages and number of operating systems were found to explain essentially different variance and these are considered to be independent factors for performance prediction. The results suggest that the ability to consider a problem from multiple viewpoints is an important factor in producing error free software.
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