Pitekün: An Experimental Visual Tool to Assist Code Navigation and Code Understanding

Abstract

Studies show that software developers spend significantly more time navigating and understanding a codebase than actually writing code. Oddly, code navigation and comprehension are poorly supported by current programming environments. We present the main lines of the Pitek&x00FC;n programming environment to mitigate the gap between developer information needs and the current tool support. Pitek&x00FC;n uses three techniques to address the gap: (i) a spatial representation of the codebase, (ii) visual cues, and (iii) polymetric views. We conjecture that Pitek&x00FC;n improves navigation in the codebase and in answering the questions developers ask when learning the codebase. © 2014 IEEE.