Scientific Visualization, 2018, volume 10, number 5, pages 123 - 139, DOI: 10.26583/sv.10.5.08
3D visualization of architecture and metrics of the software
Authors: D.E. Namiot1, V.Yu. Romanov2
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia
1 ORCID: 0000-0002-4463-1678, dnamiot@gmail.com
2 ORCID: 0000-0001-5140-9576, vladimir.romanov@gmail.com
Abstract
This article provides an overview of the methods of 3D visualization of software architecture and metrics. Metrics for programs (packages, classes, repositories) form one of the most actively used directions in software engineering. This line of research refers to the analysis of software, and visual analysis here is one of the most frequently used tools. This kind of visualization is usually part of the software quality analysis process. It can be used for training, for refactoring programs, and for integrating (combining) individual components (packages) into complex software systems. Obviously, visualization facilitates and speeds up the process of understanding the structure of software components. This is becoming more and more relevant, because now many open-source software components (what most often integrate into other systems), for example, are large and rather complex software packages. Accordingly, their integration into a new project is a very difficult task. We note that the integration problem becomes even more complicated if there is no access to the source texts of components in questions. In this case, the visual representation of metrics is, in fact, the main element of analysis. Analysis of third-party components is not the only area of application. Exactly the same problems arise in corporate development when separate groups work on a large project, which, moreover, can often vary in the composition of performers. In this paper, we consider, for example, the methods of visualization and analysis of the structure of a program in 3D space, which are based on the metaphor of the representation of a software component as a city, which consists of individual buildings that are grouped into districts, etc. We also consider the use of virtual reality for the presentation of software metrics.
Keywords: software engineering, software metrics, 3D visualization, software analysis.
