• search hit 36 of 84
Back to Result List

Observing Custom Software Modifications: A Quantitative Approach of Tracking the Evolution of Patch Stacks

  • Modifications to open-source software (OSS) are often provided in the form of "patch stacks" -- sets of changes (patches) that modify a given body of source code. Maintaining patch stacks over extended periods of time is problematic when the underlying base project changes frequently. This necessitates a continuous and engineering-intensive adaptation of the stack. Nonetheless, long-term maintenance is an important problem for changes that are not integrated into projects, for instance when they are controversial or only of value to a limited group of users. We present and implement a methodology to systematically examine the temporal evolution of patch stacks, track non-functional properties like integrability and maintainability, and estimate the eventual economic and engineering effort required to successfully develop and maintain patch stacks. Our results provide a basis for quantitative research on patch stacks, including statistical analyses and other methods that lead to actionable advice on the construction and long-term maintenance of custom extensions to OSS.

Export metadata

Additional Services

Share in Twitter Search Google Scholar Statistics
Metadaten
Author:Ralf Ramsauer, Daniel Lohmann, Wolfgang MauererORCiDGND
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/2957792.2957810
Parent Title (English):Proceedings of the 12th International Symposium on Open Collaboration (OpenSym '16)
Publisher:ACM
Place of publication:New York
Editor:Tony Wassermann
Document Type:conference proceeding (article)
Language:English
Year of first Publication:2016
Release Date:2022/05/10
Tag:CADOS; Linux; collaboration; maintenance; patch stacks
First Page:1
Last Page:4
Institutes:Fakultät Informatik und Mathematik
Fakultät Informatik und Mathematik / Labor für Digitalisierung (LFD)
Begutachtungsstatus:peer-reviewed
research focus:Digitalisierung
Licence (German):Keine Lizenz - Es gilt das deutsche Urheberrecht: § 53 UrhG