Concept Location and its Applications in Software Evolution

Abstract

In order to conduct a modification task during software evolution, a programmer has to investigate the source code of a system and find the code relevant to the change task which is called concept location. Without the help of an effective method or a tool, this process might be costly and lengthy since it is mainly an inherently human activity. There exist several approaches to automate the process of concept location including static, dynamic and hybrid methods. This talk will introduce a few techniques for concept location during software evolution. The applications of concept location will be explored. Case studies will also be provided to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency. At the end, some open issues and future research directions in this field will be discussed.