Toward Effective Management of Large-Scale Software

Abstract

This paper outlines challenges the authors have faced over decades of industrial experience with large-scale software analysis and maintenance projects (especially legacy modernization) for multiple organizations where millions of lines of source code are involved. Such projects require large teams cooperating on parsing, analyzing, and manipulating source code. In this context the use of traditional parsing techniques based on context-free grammars has proven problematic. We present the Programmar API, a recently developed parsing approach designed to overcome these problems. This paper describes the industrial experiences that led to our R&D activities. The Programmar approach is designed to enable large teams to effectively extract complete, accurate, up-to-date information from application source code, and to provide this information as the basis for a wide variety of software management tools and activities. We present a framework that relates various types of such activities, and describe a vision for how the Programmar approach can provide significant benefits for the software industry in the future via an open-source distribution approach. This paper is intended to serve as an example of how challenges faced by industry can stimulate research, and as a catalyst for discussion of industry needs and potential future research directions.