Analysing the Linux kernel feature model changes using FMDiff

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• 作者：Nicolas Dintzner ; Arie van Deursen ; Martin Pinzger
• 关键词：Software product line ; Feature model ; Evolution
• 刊名：Software & Systems Modeling
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：February 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：16
• 期：1
• 页码：55-76
• 全文大小：1924KB
• 刊物类别：Computer Science
• 刊物主题：Software Engineering/Programming and Operating Systems; Programming Techniques; Software Engineering; Programming Languages, Compilers, Interpreters; Information Systems Applications (incl.Internet);
• 出版者：Springer Berlin Heidelberg
• ISSN：1619-1374
• 卷排序：16

文摘

Evolving a large scale, highly variable system is a challenging task. For such a system, evolution operations often require to update consistently both their implementation and its feature model. In this context, the evolution of the feature model closely follows the evolution of the system. The purpose of this work is to show that fine-grained feature changes can be used to guide the evolution of the highly variable system. In this paper, we present an approach to obtain fine-grained feature model changes with its supporting tool “FMDiff”. Our approach is tailored for Kconfig-based variability models and proposes a feature change classification detailing changes in features, their attributes and attribute values. We apply our approach to the Linux kernel feature model, extracting feature changes occurring in sixteen official releases. In contrast to previous studies, we found that feature modifications are responsible for most of the changes. Then, by taking advantage of the multi-platform aspect of the Linux kernel, we observe the effects of a feature change across the different architecture-specific feature models of the kernel. We found that between 10 and 50 % of feature changes impact all the architecture-specific feature models, offering a new perspective on studies of the evolution of the Linux feature model and development practices of its developers.