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Exploring how deprecated Python library APIs are (not) handled

  • Monash University
  • Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

50 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this paper, we present the first exploratory study of deprecated Python library APIs to understand the status quo of API deprecation in the realm of Python libraries. Specifically, we aim to comprehend how deprecated library APIs are declared and documented in practice by their maintainers, and how library users react to them. By thoroughly looking into six reputed Python libraries and 1,200 GitHub projects, we experimentally observe that API deprecation is poorly handled by library contributors, which subsequently introduce difficulties for Python developers to resolve the usage of deprecated library APIs. This empirical evidence suggests that our community should take immediate actions to appropriately handle the deprecation of Python library APIs.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationESEC/FSE 2020 - Proceedings of the 28th ACM Joint Meeting European Software Engineering Conference and Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering
EditorsPrem Devanbu, Myra Cohen, Thomas Zimmermann
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages233-244
Number of pages12
ISBN (Electronic)9781450370431
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 8 2020
Event28th ACM Joint Meeting European Software Engineering Conference and Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering, ESEC/FSE 2020 - Virtual, Online, United States
Duration: Nov 8 2020Nov 13 2020

Publication series

NameESEC/FSE 2020 - Proceedings of the 28th ACM Joint Meeting European Software Engineering Conference and Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering

Conference

Conference28th ACM Joint Meeting European Software Engineering Conference and Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering, ESEC/FSE 2020
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityVirtual, Online
Period11/8/2011/13/20

Keywords

  • Deprecated API
  • Deprecation
  • Evolution
  • Python library

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