Identifying Versions of Libraries used in Stack Overflow Code Snippets

Ahmed Zerouali; Camilo Ernesto Velazquez Rodriguez; Coen De Roover

doi:10.1109/MSR52588.2021.00046

Identifying Versions of Libraries used in Stack Overflow Code Snippets

Ahmed Zerouali, Camilo Ernesto Velazquez Rodriguez, Coen De Roover

Informatics and Applied Informatics

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference paper

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Stack Overflow is a popular question and answer platform where developers share technical issues in the hope of receiving answers with potential solutions. The latter may include code snippets making use of library versions that have long since been succeeded by newer ones. Other developers finding such a snippet at a later point in time may be unaware of its outdatedness unless mentioned in a comment. Furthermore, it can be difficult to integrate the snippet without knowing the exact version of the library it is referencing. In this paper, we propose an automated approach to identifying ranges of Maven library versions that might have been used in a Java snippet on Stack Overflow. We use a prototype implementation of the approach to assess the overall outdatedness of Stack Overflow snippets with respect to the latest version of each referenced library available from Maven. We found a considerable number of snippets that use outdated library versions, which suggests that developers should be careful when adopting solutions from Stack Overflow.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Mining Software Repositories
Subtitle of host publication	Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR 2021)
Publisher	IEEE
Pages	341-345
Number of pages	5
ISBN (Electronic)	978-1-7281-8710-5
ISBN (Print)	978-1-7281-8710-5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/MSR52588.2021.00046
Publication status	Published - 22 Feb 2021
Event	18th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR2021) - Virtual Duration: 17 May 2021 → 19 May 2021 Conference number: 18 https://conf.researchr.org/home/msr-2021

Publication series

Name	Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 18th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR)

Conference

Conference	18th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR2021)
Abbreviated title	MSR
Period	17/05/21 → 19/05/21
Internet address	https://conf.researchr.org/home/msr-2021

Keywords

Stack Overflow
software libraries
software ecosystems

Access to Document

10.1109/MSR52588.2021.00046

Cite this

Zerouali, A., Velazquez Rodriguez, C. E., & De Roover, C. (2021). Identifying Versions of Libraries used in Stack Overflow Code Snippets. In Mining Software Repositories: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR 2021) (pp. 341-345). [9463142] (Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 18th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR)). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/MSR52588.2021.00046

Zerouali, Ahmed ; Velazquez Rodriguez, Camilo Ernesto ; De Roover, Coen. / Identifying Versions of Libraries used in Stack Overflow Code Snippets. Mining Software Repositories: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR 2021). IEEE, 2021. pp. 341-345 (Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 18th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR)).

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title = "Identifying Versions of Libraries used in Stack Overflow Code Snippets",

abstract = "Stack Overflow is a popular question and answer platform where developers share technical issues in the hope of receiving answers with potential solutions. The latter may include code snippets making use of library versions that have long since been succeeded by newer ones. Other developers finding such a snippet at a later point in time may be unaware of its outdatedness unless mentioned in a comment. Furthermore, it can be difficult to integrate the snippet without knowing the exact version of the library it is referencing. In this paper, we propose an automated approach to identifying ranges of Maven library versions that might have been used in a Java snippet on Stack Overflow. We use a prototype implementation of the approach to assess the overall outdatedness of Stack Overflow snippets with respect to the latest version of each referenced library available from Maven. We found a considerable number of snippets that use outdated library versions, which suggests that developers should be careful when adopting solutions from Stack Overflow.",

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author = "Ahmed Zerouali and {Velazquez Rodriguez}, {Camilo Ernesto} and {De Roover}, Coen",

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Zerouali, A , Velazquez Rodriguez, CE & De Roover, C 2021, Identifying Versions of Libraries used in Stack Overflow Code Snippets. in Mining Software Repositories: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR 2021)., 9463142, Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 18th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR), IEEE, pp. 341-345, 18th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR2021), 17/05/21. https://doi.org/10.1109/MSR52588.2021.00046

Identifying Versions of Libraries used in Stack Overflow Code Snippets. / Zerouali, Ahmed ; Velazquez Rodriguez, Camilo Ernesto ; De Roover, Coen.

Mining Software Repositories: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR 2021). IEEE, 2021. p. 341-345 9463142 (Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 18th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR)).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference paper

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N2 - Stack Overflow is a popular question and answer platform where developers share technical issues in the hope of receiving answers with potential solutions. The latter may include code snippets making use of library versions that have long since been succeeded by newer ones. Other developers finding such a snippet at a later point in time may be unaware of its outdatedness unless mentioned in a comment. Furthermore, it can be difficult to integrate the snippet without knowing the exact version of the library it is referencing. In this paper, we propose an automated approach to identifying ranges of Maven library versions that might have been used in a Java snippet on Stack Overflow. We use a prototype implementation of the approach to assess the overall outdatedness of Stack Overflow snippets with respect to the latest version of each referenced library available from Maven. We found a considerable number of snippets that use outdated library versions, which suggests that developers should be careful when adopting solutions from Stack Overflow.

AB - Stack Overflow is a popular question and answer platform where developers share technical issues in the hope of receiving answers with potential solutions. The latter may include code snippets making use of library versions that have long since been succeeded by newer ones. Other developers finding such a snippet at a later point in time may be unaware of its outdatedness unless mentioned in a comment. Furthermore, it can be difficult to integrate the snippet without knowing the exact version of the library it is referencing. In this paper, we propose an automated approach to identifying ranges of Maven library versions that might have been used in a Java snippet on Stack Overflow. We use a prototype implementation of the approach to assess the overall outdatedness of Stack Overflow snippets with respect to the latest version of each referenced library available from Maven. We found a considerable number of snippets that use outdated library versions, which suggests that developers should be careful when adopting solutions from Stack Overflow.

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Zerouali A , Velazquez Rodriguez CE , De Roover C. Identifying Versions of Libraries used in Stack Overflow Code Snippets. In Mining Software Repositories: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR 2021). IEEE. 2021. p. 341-345. 9463142. (Proceedings - 2021 IEEE/ACM 18th International Conference on Mining Software Repositories (MSR)). https://doi.org/10.1109/MSR52588.2021.00046

Identifying Versions of Libraries used in Stack Overflow Code Snippets

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

FWOEOS10: Automated Assistance for Developing Software in Ecosystems of the Future