Using evolution to evaluate reverse engineering technologies: mapping the process of software change

This paper describes a case study where versions of software are used to tr ack actual changes made to software applications. The process of evolution within a number of software applications is described. The applications are developed using two different software development languages; C and COBOL. The evolution of the applications is tracked and language specific differe nces are highlighted, Graphical representations of the change process are t hen produced and the reasons for specific change features identified, The a im of the approach is to gain a more detailed understanding of how and wher e change processes take place, The consequence of identifiable sets of chan ges and their effect on the future maintainability of software is discussed , The overall aim of this study is to provide a characterisation of the cha nge process that eventually can be used to evaluate the suitability of reve rse engineering technologies in re-structuring legacy applications to a for m more suited to successful evolution. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All r ights reserved.