Names of classes/methods/variables play an important role in code readability. To investigate how developers choose names, Feitelson et al. conducted an empirical survey and suggested a method to improve naming quality. We replicated their study, but limited the survey subjects to university students. Specifically, we conducted two experiments including 341 students from freshman to senior. The aim of the first experiment was to investigate the characteristics of the names given by students. The experimental results showed that the name length as well as the number of words contained in names increased with the grade level and students have ambiguity in understanding the name. The second experiment was to verify whether Feitelson et al.’s naming method can help improve the quality of names given by students. The experimental data showed an improvement in the quality of names for 70% of cases, which confirms the validity of the method for university students.

Qing Mi

Xiaoke Wang

Bingnuo Chen

no description available

Naser Al Madi

Colby College

United States

Qing Mi

Xiaoke Wang

Bingnuo Chen