LibComp: An IntelliJ plugin for comparing Java libraries

Rehab El-Hajj, Sarah Nadi

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Software developers heavily rely on third-party libraries to accomplish their programming tasks. Since many libraries offer similar functionality, it can be difficult and tedious for developers differentiate similar libraries in order to select the most suitable one. In our previous work, we proposed the idea of metric-based library comparisons that allow developers to compare various aspects of libraries within the same domain, empowering them with information to aid with their decision. In this paper we present an IntelliJ plugin, LibComp, that provides this library metric-based comparison technique right within the developer's IDE. As soon as a developer adds a library dependency that LibComp has information about, LibComp will highlight this dependency to let the developer know that there are alternatives available. Once the user triggers the comparison for that library, they can view various metrics about the library and its alternatives and decide if they want to use one of the alternatives. In the process, LibComp also records the number of times the developer invokes the tool and any completed replacements. Such feedback, if optionally sent to us by the developer, provides us valuable insights into developers'replacement decisions as well as information on how we can improve the tool. A video demonstrating the usage of LibComp can be found at https://youtu.be/YtEEdJan77A

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationESEC/FSE 2020 - Proceedings of the 28th ACM Joint Meeting European Software Engineering Conference and Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering
EditorsPrem Devanbu, Myra Cohen, Thomas Zimmermann
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages1591-1595
Number of pages5
ISBN (Electronic)9781450370431
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 8 2020
Event28th ACM Joint Meeting European Software Engineering Conference and Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering, ESEC/FSE 2020 - Virtual, Online, United States
Duration: Nov 8 2020Nov 13 2020

Publication series

NameESEC/FSE 2020 - Proceedings of the 28th ACM Joint Meeting European Software Engineering Conference and Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering

Conference

Conference28th ACM Joint Meeting European Software Engineering Conference and Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering, ESEC/FSE 2020
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityVirtual, Online
Period11/8/2011/13/20

Keywords

  • IntelliJ plugin
  • Software aspects
  • Software library comparisons

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software

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