Understanding the NPM dependencies ecosystem of a project using virtual reality
Informazioni aggiuntive
Autori
Moreno-Lumbreras D.,
González-Barahona J. M.,
Lanza M.
Tipo
Contributo in atti di convegno
Anno
2023
Lingua
Inglese
Sommario
Modern JavaScript development relies heavily on using Node Package Manager (NPM) modules. These modules are related by dependency relationships, possibly requiring dozens or hundreds of modules to build a complete JavaScript web application. Studying dependencies, in terms of their sustainability, vulnerability, size, defects, etc., is fundamental for the deployment and maintenance of JavaScript web applications. We use a 3D metaphor based on presenting dependencies as an “elevated city”, mapping both dependency relationships and characteristics of interest of each module. We developed a VR (virtual reality) scene representing the dependencies of several web applications using the elevated city metaphor, and exposed industrial experts to it to check its suitability. They explored a medium-sized project, with more than 200 dependencies, sharing their insights. The results highlight different aspects of our approach and how the combination of metrics helps experts to obtain insights from the ecosystem. The feedback shows the usefulness of the visualization to check and explore several aspects of the dependencies of an application, helping to identify problems related to maintainability, license usage, or vulnerabilities, and to design strategies to address them.
Parole chiave
Virtual reality, Elevated city, Software visualization, Ecosystem , NPM dependencies
Titolo atti di convegno
2023 IEEE Working Conference on Software Visualization (VISSOFT)
Pagine (o numero dell’articolo)
84-94
Diffusione
Licenza
Licenza non definita
Visibilità
Pubblico
Status open access
Green
