CAREER:Understanding Program Comprehension for Automated Software Documentation Generation

这个研究项目的目标是1)为软件开发人员如何编写软件文档创建一个程序理解模型，以及2)使用该模型设计算法来自动化编写文档的过程。编写文档的过程是软件开发项目中的一项主要费用，经常被忽视。通过自动化流程的关键组件，这项研究帮助程序员避免了这一费用，从而提高了生产率。该项目研究了程序员在阅读源代码编写文档时所遵循的流程。然后，该项目提出了模拟这一过程的算法。这些算法与新的自然语言生成系统集成，以创建软件行为的描述。然后将这些描述集成到源代码的文档中。这一项目的一个关键的更广泛的影响是增加视力残疾人的劳动参与度。首先，研究产生的描述可以用于盲人程序员的无障碍技术，帮助这些程序员阅读源代码。其次，为盲人和视障人士开设的州立K-12学校的外展计划有助于帮助这些学校的学生为进入软件开发行业做好准备。

The objective of this research project is 1) to create a model of program comprehension for how software development professionals write software documentation, and 2) to use this model to design algorithms to automate the process of writing documentation. The process of writing documentation is a major expense in software development projects, and is often neglected. By automating key components of the process, this research helps programmers to avoid this expense and therefore to be more productive.The project studies the process that programmers follow when reading source code to write documentation. Then, the project proposes algorithms to mimic that process. These algorithms are integrated with novel natural language generation systems to create descriptions of software behavior. These descriptions are then integrated into documentation of the source code. A key broader impact of this project is to increase the workforce participation of persons with visual disabilities. First, the descriptions generated by the research can be used in accessibility technologies for blind programmers, to help those programmers read source code. Second, an outreach program to state K-12 schools for the blind and visually impaired helps prepare students in these schools prepare for a career in the software development industry.