Through (Tracking) Their Eyes: Abstraction and Complexity in Program Comprehension

What is it about?

Algorithms, as they are presented in advanced classes, consist of a description of a process solving a well-defined problem. Properties of this process, such as its efficiency or correctness, are often reasoned about in a formal proof. ­­­ This exploratory study suggests that advanced students comprehend the process and the proof on abstraction levels described in models on proof and program comprehension. However, they also connect components of the proof to components of the program, which adds another dimension to the comprehension process. These findings suggest that the wording of the problem the algorithm solves together with (possibly superficial) structural similarities between the proof and the process description may have a beneficial effect on establishing and understanding such connections.

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