Automated Program Description
D. Scott Cyphers · DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) · 1982
The programmer's apprentice (PA) is an automated program development tool. The PA depends upon a library of common algorithms (cliches) as the source of its knowledge about programming. The PA uses these cliches to understand how a program is implemented. This knowledge may also used to explain to a user of the PA how the program is implemented. The problem with any explanation or description is knowing how much information to present, and how much information to hide. A set of simple heuristics for doing this can be used with the cliche representation of a program to produce reasonable descriptions of parts of programs. The system described combines "canned " phrases corresponding to cliche parts to form explanations. The process is fast and appears to be easily extensible to future versions of the PA and other domains. A.I. Laboratory Working Papers are produced for internal circulation, and may contain information that is, for example, too preliminary or too detailed for formal publication. It is not intended that they should be papers to which reference may be made in the literature. a WSSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOl0GY981