javaJAM

Participants

• CSDL: Monir Hodges
• Affiliates:  SUN

Summary

Software application developers need to share information in order to design, implement and improve software. Such collaboration involves the sharing of source code and documentation. Collaboration also involves the collection and organization of comments and ideas. This collaboration must not be limited by physical constraints such as time-zones and locations.

The goal of this research is to create a virtual environment for assisting developers with reviewing and discussing software source, documentation, and comments.  We propose a web-enabled collaborative environment called javaJAM that organizes software source and documentation and comments.

javaJAM allows for quick navigation by linking specific portions of related source code, documentation, and comments.  javaJAM provides for navigation through applications, applicaction source, application documentation and related comments.  javaJAM allows for and organizes comments as they relate to portions of source and documentation. 

javaJAM was evaluated through a case student in a classroom setting where students developed small applications and shared their source with the instructor and each other.  javaJAM was used by students to share completed applications and to collect and make critiques of each others' work. Student and instructor reaction to javaJAM was generally positive. Students found javaJam to be an easy way to review their projects and post their comments.

Software

Publications

Available at the javaJAM Publications Area.

Status 

Started Spring, 1999. JavaJAM was used in a classroom setting during both Spring, 2000 (in ICS 111: Introduction to Computer Science) and Fall, 2000 (in ICS 613: Advanced Software Engineering).

Keywords

Application development, collaboration, source code, documentation, comments, critiques