Evaluating documenting techniques on frameworks of object-oriented code

This research work empirically investigated different documentation philosophies for effective transfer of knowledge in teaching new framework users. Six controlled experiments were set up to compare the various documentation philosophies, namely patterns-style, minimalist and extended javadoc (Jdoc) documentation. These knowledge transfer strategies and tests were evaluated within two different frameworks. Subjects´ exercises were used to gather data, the results from which were used to formulate guidelines for effective framework documentation. The discoveries in this paper were two fold. First, the statistical analyses such as univariate analyses of variance show that the effect and impact of the various documentation strategies are different. Second, different effectiveness of the patterns-style when applied to different frameworks was discovered. The formulated guidelines will be used to serve as an important roadmap for instructors who wish to integrate framework documentation into their teaching and learning environments. Different documentation philosophies are better for different goals. For a simple task, use minimalist documentation. For a much more complex problem, the empirical results suggest using patterns-style documentation.