A program visualisation tool for emphasising the dynamic nature of reusability

Abstract

Code reuse is the ability to use the same source code in different programming contexts. Dynamic program visualisation is the production of visual representations of a running computer program. This thesis investigates code reuse, with emphasis on its dynamic nature. The goal of this project is to produce a tool that visualises aspects of reuse from executing (dynamic) programs. To achieve this goal, this thesis examines a model of code reuse that is used to determine the qualities that make code more reusable. Program visualisation is investigated, from which a quality criteria and visualisation architecture are developed. A survey of dynamic visualisation tools provides additional practical information. The results from this investigation are used to design Dy-re, a tool for profiling the dynamic nature of reusability. The tool is based on an existing text-based debugger that is used to extract the run-time information from executing C++ programs. We include an example of Dy-re working, and a critique of the tool.