Improving software quality using an ontology-based approach

Ensuring quality in software development is a challenging process. The concepts of anti-pattern and bad code smells utilize the knowledge of reoccurring problems to improve the quality of current and future software development. Anti-patterns describe recurring bad design solutions while bad code smells describe source code that is error-free but difficult to understand and maintain. Code refactoring aims to remove bad code smells without changing a program’s functionality while improving program quality. There are metrics-based tools to detect a few bad code smells from source code; however, the knowledge and understanding of these indicators of low quality software are still insufficient to resolve many of the problems they represent. Minimal research addresses the relationships between or among bad code smells, anti-patterns and refactoring. In this research, we present a new ontology, Ontology for Anti-patterns, Bad Code Smells and Refactoring (OABR), to define the concepts and their relation properties. Such an ontological infrastructure encourages a common understanding of these concepts among the software community and provides more concise definitions that help to avoid overlapping and inconsistent description. It utilizes reasoning capabilities associated with ontology to analyze the software development domain and offer new insights into the domain. Software quality issues such as understandability and maintainability can be improved by identifying and resolving anti-patterns associated with code smells as well as preventing bad code smells before coding begins.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Computer Sciences

Grantor

Computer Science

Year dc:date.available

2010

Author dc:creator

• Luo, Yixin

• code smell
• anti-pattern
• refactoring
• ontology
• software quality

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Identifier

etd-04142010-140421
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1223

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.lsu.edu:gradschool_dissertations-2222