一句话：论文提出以解释理论改进编译器错误信息，并通过开发者评估与 Stack Overflow 实证研究探讨其呈现方式。
论文关注编译器主要通过错误信息向开发者反馈问题，但开发者常认为这些信息令人困惑、帮助有限。作者认为，其根源之一是错误信息提供的解释质量不佳，因此可应用 Toulmin 论证模型等解释理论来提升质量。为理解编译器应如何向开发者呈现解释，作者对 68 名专业软件开发者开展了比较评估，并对七种不同编程语言中出现在 Stack Overflow 问题里的编译器错误信息进行了实证研究。该工作从解释理论与人因角度分析编译器诊断信息的设计，为改进错误信息的表达与呈现提供依据。
Compilers primarily give feedback about problems to developers through the use of error messages. Unfortunately, developers routinely find these messages to be confusing and unhelpful. In this paper, we postulate that because error messages present poor explanations, theories of explanation---such as Toulmin's model of argument---can be applied to improve their quality. To understand how compilers should present explanations to developers, we conducted a comparative evaluation with 68 professional software developers and an empirical study of compiler error messages found in Stack Overflow questions across seven different programming languages.
DOI 原文 ·
@inproceedings{paperbot4624,
title = {How should compilers explain problems to developers?},
author = {Titus Barik and Denae Ford and Emerson Murphy-Hill and Chris Parnin},
booktitle = {FSE},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1145/3236024.3236040}
}