Understanding the motivations, challenges, and practices of software rejuvenation

Abstract

The continuous evolution of programming languages has brought benefits and new challenges for software developers. In recent years, we have witnessed a rapid release of new versions of mainstream programming languages like Java. While these advancements promise better security, enhanced performance, and increased developers’ productivity, the constant release of new language versions has posed a particular challenge for practitioners: how to keep their systems up-to-date with new language releases. This thesis aims to understand the pains, motivations, and practices developers follow during rejuvenating efforts—a particular kind of software maintenance whose goal is to avoid obsolesce due to the evolution of programming languages. To this end, we are building and validating a theory using a mixed methods study. In the first study, we interviewed 23 software developers and used the Constructivist Grounded Theory Method to identify recurrent challenges and practices used in rejuvenation efforts. In the second study, we mined the software repositories of open-source projects written in C++ and JavaScript to identify the adoption of new language features and whether or not software developers conduct large rejuvenation efforts. The first study highlights the benefits of new feature adoption and rejuvenation, revealing developer methods and challenges. The second study emphasizes open-source adoption trends and patterns for modern features. In the third and final study, our goal is to share our theory on software rejuvenation with practitioners through the Focus Group method with industrial patterns.