Suggesting API usage to novice programmers with the Example Guru

  • Michelle Ichinco
  • , Wint Yee Hnin
  • , Caitlin L. Kelleher

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

Programmers, especially novices, often have difficulty learning new APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). Existing research has not fully addressed novice programmers' un-awareness of all available API methods. To help novices discover new and appropriate uses for API methods, we designed a system called the Example Guru. The Example Guru suggests context-relevant API methods based on each programmer's code. The suggestions provide contrasting examples to demonstrate how to use the API methods. To evaluate the effectiveness of the Example Guru, we ran a study comparing novice programmers' use of the Example Guru and documentation-inspired API information. We found that twice as many participants accessed the Example Guru suggestions compared to documentation and that participants used more than twice as many new API methods after accessing suggestions than documentation.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCHI 2017 - Proceedings of the 2017 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Subtitle of host publicationExplore, Innovate, Inspire
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Pages1105-1117
Number of pages13
ISBN (Electronic)9781450346559
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2 2017
Event2017 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2017 - Denver, United States
Duration: May 6 2017May 11 2017

Publication series

NameConference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings
Volume2017-May

Conference

Conference2017 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2017
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityDenver
Period05/6/1705/11/17

Keywords

  • APIs
  • Examples
  • Novice programming
  • Programming support

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