Understanding the impact of mobile app markets on software practice

了解移动应用市场对软件实践的影响

• 批准号: RGPIN-2017-04618
• 负责人: Nagappan, Meiyappan
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: University of Waterloo
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=710480
• 关键词: Understanding; impact; mobile; app; markets

Recent market studies predict that the global mobile app economy is expected to be worth $143 billion by end of 2016. However, unlike traditional software, the distribution mechanism for software applications on mobile devices (or mobile apps) is very different - they are released through app markets (e.g., Google Play, or Apple's App store). Such app markets have changed the way software developers interact with users, the way software is released, and the way users consume the software. There are three types of developers that belong to the app market ecosystem: (a) the developer that builds and releases the apps (eg., Rovio Entertainment that released Angry Birds), (b) the developers that build software libraries that are used across many different apps (eg., the Facebook SDK library), and (c) the developers that build and maintain the app store (eg., Google/BlackBerry). The long-term goal of my research agenda is to examine the impact that this new distribution mechanism has had on the practice of Software Engineering (SE), and to identify challenges and build both knowledge and solutions that can help the different types of developers that are part of the mobile app ecosystem. In the short term, the proposed research program plans to analyze the data that is publicly available in the app markets (app binary, user comments, release notes, app popularity etc.) to make recommendations to the different types of developers so that the end user has a better experience using the app. For example, we want to investigate if app developers are using outdated libraries with known security vulnerabilities. The deliverables from the proposed research program are going to be both empirical results that will shed new light on current software engineering practice, as well as tools that practitioners can use to build better quality apps at a quicker pace. The proposed research program is expected to train 3 HQP (PhD students). Finally, these app markets, which are now standard for mobile apps, are getting popular for desktop apps, video/console games, apps for the Internet of Things, and even open source apps. Thus the lessons we learn from the mature mobile app markets could also be translated to the other upcoming markets thereby enhancing the experience of the various types of developers. Such lessons could give Canadian developers an early advantage to become successful in emerging markets.

最近的市场研究预测，到2016年底，全球移动应用经济预计将达到1430亿美元。然而，与传统软件不同，移动设备上的软件应用程序（或移动应用程序）的分发机制非常不同——它们通过应用程序市场（例如b谷歌Play或苹果的应用程序商店）发布。这样的应用市场已经改变了软件开发者与用户互动的方式、软件的发布方式以及用户消费软件的方式。应用市场生态系统中有三种类型的开发者：(a)构建和发布应用的开发者(例如；(2)开发跨多个不同应用程序使用的软件库的开发商（例如：Rovio Entertainment）。（如Facebook SDK库），以及(c)构建和维护应用商店的开发者（如Facebook）。,谷歌/黑莓)。