Introduction: Remixing Snippets and Reusing Components - Finding Source Code on the Web for Remix and Reuse - page 5

Table 1.1: Source code search targets used in card sorting task
artificial intelligence, software clustering, and genetics [ 9 , 19 , 21 ]. We used Concept
Explorer to produce a concept lattice Fig. 1.1 . For expository purposes, we use a
simplified version here.
The white boxes are the search targets from Table 1.1 . The grey boxes are the
categories created by the participants. When targets or categories always appeared
together, they were collapsed into a single box. The organization and layout of the
lattice are generated automatically and it reflects the relationships between the con-
cepts. More specific concepts appear closer to the bottom of the lattice, and more
general ones appear to the top. Circles are placed where different objects are joined
to create more general concepts. Larger circles indicate greater confidence in the
concept. Some circles are barely visible and not labeled, as these have been created
by the analysis process and were not part of the input data. Circles where the bottom
half is colored black indicate an exact match with categories created by the partic-
ipants. Circles where the top half is shaded indicate an exact match with search
targets in the study. Edges in the lattice depict a relationship between concepts, with
line thickness showing the strength.
In this concept lattice, examples and snippets are in the far left half. Documenta-
tion in the form of tutorials and forums are in the middle. To the right of these, are
bugs and patches. On the far right are components such as systems, products, and
frameworks. The arrangement from left to right was selected by Concept Explorer
to create the simplest layout possible, by minimizing edge crossings. It is notewor-
thy that the snippets group on the left is placed on the opposite side of the page
from the components group on the right. Two search targets, a class to represent a
bank transaction and a class to connect to a database appear in the middle with links
to both snippets and components. This makes sense, because they are both small
pieces of code and a means to access these larger systems.