Research >> Improving the Usability of APIs

Reuse of code libraries or frameworks through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) has become central to software development. Software developers favour reuse over re-invention since reuse increases productivity and the quality of the resulting software. Making use of APIs, however, present several challenges to both novice and expert software developers. In this two-phase project, I began with a user study to identify and understand the challenges developers encounter when learning how to use APIs. In the second phase, I propose new ideas, techniques, and tools to assist software developers make use of APIs.

Papers.

Ekwa Duala-Ekoko and Martin P. Robillard. Using Structure-Based Recommendations to Facilitate Discoverability in APIs. Proceedings of the 25th European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming (ECOOP 2011), July 2011, Lancaster, UK. (local copy)

Ekwa Duala-Ekoko and Martin P. Robillard. The Information Gathering Strategies of API Learners. Technical Report SOCS-TR-2010.6, School of Computer Science, McGill University, August 2010.
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Ekwa Duala-Ekoko and Martin P. Robillard. Asking and Answering Questions During API Exploration. In preparation.