Exposing Behavioral Differences in Cross-Language API Mapping Relations

ISCAS OpenIR

	Exposing Behavioral Differences in Cross-Language API Mapping Relations
	Zhong, Hao; Thummalapenta, Suresh; Xie, Tao
	2013
会议名称	16th International Conference on Fundamental Approaches to Software Engineering (FASE)
页码	130-145
会议日期	MAR 16-24, 2013
会议地点	Rome, ITALY
收录类别	CPCI
出版地	SPRINGER-VERLAG BERLIN
ISSN	0302-9743
ISBN	978-3-642-37057-1
部门归属	[Zhong, Hao] Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Software, Lab Internet Software Technol, Beijing, Peoples R China.
摘要	Due to various considerations, software vendors often translate their applications from one programming language to another, either manually or with the support of translation tools. Both these scenarios require translation of many call sites of API elements (i.e., classes, methods, and fields of API libraries). API mapping relations, either acquired by experienced programmers or already incorporated in translation tools, are much valuable in the translation process, since they describe mapping relations between source API elements and their equivalent target API elements. However, in an API mapping relation, a source API element and its target API elements may have behavioral differences, and such differences could lead to defects in the translated code. So far, to the best of our knowledge, there exists no previous study for exposing or understanding such differences. In this paper, we make the first attempt to expose and analyze behavioral differences in cross-language API mapping relations. From our result, we summarize eight findings and their implications that can improve effectiveness of translation tools, and also assist programmers in understanding the differences between mapped API elements of different languages during the translation process. Some exposed behavioral differences can indicate defects in translation tools, and four such new defects were confirmed by the developers of those tools.; Due to various considerations, software vendors often translate their applications from one programming language to another, either manually or with the support of translation tools. Both these scenarios require translation of many call sites of API elements (i.e., classes, methods, and fields of API libraries). API mapping relations, either acquired by experienced programmers or already incorporated in translation tools, are much valuable in the translation process, since they describe mapping relations between source API elements and their equivalent target API elements. However, in an API mapping relation, a source API element and its target API elements may have behavioral differences, and such differences could lead to defects in the translated code. So far, to the best of our knowledge, there exists no previous study for exposing or understanding such differences. In this paper, we make the first attempt to expose and analyze behavioral differences in cross-language API mapping relations. From our result, we summarize eight findings and their implications that can improve effectiveness of translation tools, and also assist programmers in understanding the differences between mapped API elements of different languages during the translation process. Some exposed behavioral differences can indicate defects in translation tools, and four such new defects were confirmed by the developers of those tools.
语种	英语
内容类型	会议论文
URI标识	http://ir.iscas.ac.cn/handle/311060/16526
专题	中国科学院软件研究所
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Zhong, Hao,Thummalapenta, Suresh,Xie, Tao. Exposing Behavioral Differences in Cross-Language API Mapping Relations[C]. SPRINGER-VERLAG BERLIN,2013:130-145.