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This article extends <ahref="https://doi.org/10.1109/SANER.2017.7884623">Hofmeister, Siegmund, & Holt (2017) @ SANER17, see below</a>. We analyze and discuss participants’ visual focus. The data were obtained in the original study using a restricted focus viewer, called the "letterbox", which limited the visible code to 7 lines at once.
<li><ahref="http://www.psychologie.uni-heidelberg.de/ae/allg/mitarb/dh/">Daniel V. Holt</a></li>
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<ahref="https://www.infosun.fim.uni-passau.de/publications/docs/SPP+17.pdf">Measuring Neural Efficiency of Program Comprehension, PDF, 1MB</a>
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<h4>Abstract</h4>
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Most modern software programs cannot be understood in their entirety by a single programmer. Instead, programmers must rely on a set of cognitive processes that aid in seeking, filtering, and shaping relevant information for a given programming task. Several theories have been proposed to explain these processes, such as <i>beacons</i>, for locating relevant code, and <i>plans</i>, for encoding cognitive models. However, these theories are decades old and lack validation with modern cognitive-neuroscience methods. In this paper, we report on a study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with 11 participants who performed program comprehension tasks. We manipulated experimental conditions related to beacons and layout to isolate specific cognitive processes related to bottom-up comprehension and comprehension based on semantic cues. We found evidence of semantic chunking during bottom-up comprehension and lower activation of brain areas during comprehension based on semantic cues, confirming that beacons ease comprehension.
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