Cognitive tools for locating and comprehending software objects for reuse

The authors describe a conceptual framework to facilitate software reuse. It is shown that high functionality computer systems by themselves do not provide sufficient support for software reuse. Two systems that support this framework, CODEFINDER and EXPLAINER, are presented. CODEFINDER addresses issues on information access for software reuse. Support for comprehending software objects is demonstrated with EXPLAINER. A scenario describing how the two systems are used in a reuse situation is presented. The authors show how these systems fit into the bigger pictures of software development environments, address limitations of the systems, and discuss future directions