Observer

Observer

We are interested in how Java developers use Eclipse’s quick fix and we are trying to understand why they use it as they do.

To help answer this question, you can enable the Quick Fix (QF) Observer plug-in and send me its logs. There are 2 ways to send me the logs:

1. Send the logs automatically. Under the preference page of QF Observer plug-in (as shown below), there are 2 options for sending the logs to me. Both options will eventually zip the content of 'Quick_Fix_Usage' directory, send the zip file to me by e-mail, and delete both the logs and the zip file. 1. If you want to send the logs once, click on the 'Send Logs Now!' button. 1. If you want to send the logs every time you open Eclipse, check ‘Send logs periodically’ box. When you hit ‘Apply’, your preference will be saved.
2. Send the logs to kivancmuslu at gmail dot com manually. The logs are stored inside a directory called 'Quick_Fix_Usage' under your home directory. You can zip this directory and send it to me. You are free to delete the logs afterwards.

Figure 1: Sending Logs Automatically

What is Recorded?

The Quick Fix (QF) Observer plug-in records the following information:

• For each quick fix session:
  1. The time passed between the last edit to the project and the quick fix dialog is created.
  2. The number of compilation errors before applying any proposal (i.e., when the user starts a quick fix session).
  3. The proposals offered by Eclipse.
  4. The proposal (if any) that is selected by the user.
  5. The number of compilation errors after applying the selected proposal (if any).
  6. The length of the session (i.e., the time required for the user to make a decision).
• The undo actions (for proposals) taken by the user.
• Debug dump. In addition to these logs, if the snapshot feature is activated through the preferences (shown above), Quick Fix Scout also logs a snapshot of your current project when Quick Fix is invoked if the following conditions met:
• There are at least two compilation errors in your current project,
• Snapshot size is less than 20 MB. Snapshot is a complete zip of your project folder. If the snapshot is larger than 20 MB. it is immediately deleted (after creation). If not, it is stored to your log directory with a unique timestamp. Finally, snapshot feature is disabled by default, you need to activate it after the installation (see below screen shot).

Example usage log file

Example debug log file

Example snapshot

Figure 2: Activating Snapshot Feature

What is Included in the Email?

The observation logs (explained above).

• The debugging logs. These are just the debug dump I use for debugging. These logs might help me figure out if a problem occurs in the plug-in. No personal information is included inside this dump.
• Your user name. Used as the subject of the e-mail to group the logs from the same user easily.

Note: The plug-in (if activated) only sends the information in the 'Quick_Fix_Usage' directory under your home directory. While Eclipse is running, you can look at this directory to see the exact content of the logs. There should be at least two files inside the directory representing your current Eclipse session. The usage and debug data will continue to be written on these files as you introduce compilation errors, change your project contents and invoke quick fix.