What Do Programmers Know about Software Energy Consumption?

Abstract

Traditionally, programmers received a range of training on programming languages and methodologies, but they rarely receive training on software energy consumption. Yet, the popularity of mobile devices and cloud computing requires increased awareness of software energy consumption. On mobile devices, battery life often limits computation. Under the demands of cloud computing, datacenters struggle to reduce energy consumption through virtualization and datacenter-infrastructure-management systems. Efficient software energy consumption is increasingly becoming an important nonfunctional requirement for programmers. However, are programmers knowledgeable enough about software energy consumption? Do they base their implementation decision on popular beliefs? Researchers surveyed more than 100 programmers regarding their knowledge of software energy consumption. They found that the programmers had limited knowledge of energy efficiency, lacked knowledge of the best practices to reduce software energy consumption, and were often unsure about how software consumes energy. These results highlight the need for better training and education on energy consumption and efficiency.