An Exploratory Study on the Evolution of C Programming in the Unix Operating System

Abstract

Context: Numerous factors drive long term progress in programming practices. Goal: We study the evolution of C programming in the Unix operating system. Method: We extract, aggregate, and synthesize metrics from 66 snapshots obtained from an artificial software configuration management repository tracking the evolution of the Unix operating system over four decades. Results: C language programming practices appear to evolve over long term periods; our study identified some continuous trends with highly significant coefficients of determination. Many trends point toward increasing code quality through adherence to numerous programming guidelines, while some others indicate adoption that has reached maturity. In the area of commenting progress appears to have stalled. Conclusions: Studying the long term evolution of programming practices identifies areas where progress has been achieved along an expected path, as well as cases where there is room for improvement.