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The Role of Extrafoveal Vision in Source Code Comprehension
Pavel A Orlov1, Roman Bednarik2
1School of Computing, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland; Department of Engineering Graphics and Design, Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Perception
|November 6, 2016
Summary
Extrafoveal vision aids expert programmers in understanding source code. Restricting this peripheral vision impairs expert performance, making them process code like novices.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Software Engineering
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Software engineer behavior is crucial for development and education.
- Previous research on source code comprehension focused on foveal vision and gaze fixation.
- Extrafoveal vision's role in information processing during coding has been largely overlooked.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of extrafoveal vision on source code comprehension.
- To explore how restricting peripheral vision affects expert and novice programmers.
- To introduce a new perspective on information processing in source code understanding.
Main Methods:
- A gaze-contingent study was conducted with expert (N=12) and novice (N=12) programmers.
- The window-moving paradigm was used to limit the extrafoveal vision area.
- Participants comprehended two source code examples under restricted extrafoveal vision conditions.
Main Results:
- Extrafoveal vision provides significant semantic preview benefits to expert programmers.
- When extrafoveal vision was restricted, expert fixation duration increased to levels similar to novices.
- Expert programmers' performance declined, and task completion time increased in the restricted-view condition.
Conclusions:
- Extrafoveal vision is essential for efficient source code comprehension in expert programmers.
- The ability to utilize semantic information from peripheral vision is a key differentiator between expert and novice programmers.
- Future research should consider the role of extrafoveal vision in software engineering studies.
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