Path: news.daimi.aau.dk!news.uni-c.dk!sunic!pipex!uunet!caen!msuinfo!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!nella30.cc.monash.edu.au!amarks From: amarks@nella30.cc.monash.edu.au (Andy Marks) Newsgroups: comp.lang.beta Subject: Error Message Questionnaire (Re-Post) Date: 17 Oct 1994 07:42:04 GMT Organization: Monash University Lines: 217 Message-ID: <37t9sc$8bt@harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au> NNTP-Posting-Host: nella30.cc.monash.edu.au X-NNTP-Posting-User: amarks Keywords: -y Error Message Questionnaire =========================== Greetings, -- NOTE: This questionnaire has been previously posted to this newsgroup this year. If you have already replied, there is no need to do so again. The re-posting is mainly for those people who missed the first posting and US students who were on summer holidays during the first posting. -- Here is your big chance to have a say about the quality of those nasty little error messages that prevent us from accomplishing our favorite task - programming! I am using the results from this questionnaire in my research (for a Masters by Research degree at Monash University) into error messages and have posted this message to all Internet newsgroups dealing with programming languages. Although this posting might look quite large, relax - there are only 6 questions in total, and the final one is complet- ely optional: most of the questions are just picking options from a list anyway, so it shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes to complete. If you would like your response to remain confidential, please indicate this - otherwise you will be given a "thanks" somewhere in my thesis (best I can do, sorry!). Please email replies back to the original sender. If you are NOT replying to this questionnaire through the news reader, address your reply to "amarks@nellads.cc.monash.edu.au". Also, please mark all answers on the original copy of the questionnaire - as opposed to writing your answers in a freeform manner, which will make collating the results a lot more difficult and time-consuming. When all responses have been collected, a summary of the results will be posted back to each newsgroup. Then we'll all be able to sleep safely with the knowledge that we all make mistakes, and no-one is perfect! :-) ----------------------------------------------------------- Section A: PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE BACKGROUND - these questions will help me learn a little about the language you're referring to in your answers. The term "this language" refers to the one served by the newsgroup this questionnaire appeared on. For example, if you got this questionnaire from "comp.lang.apl", then "this language" refers to apl. 1a.Which programming language(s) are you referring to in your answers? ada dylan ml rexx apl eiffel modula2 sas asm forth modula3 sather awk fortran oberon scheme basic functional objective-c sigplan visual-basic hermes pascal smalltalk c icon perl tcl c++ idl pop teco cobol intercal postscript verilog cfutures lisp prograph vhdl clos logo prolog visual clu misc python (*) other: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ insert other language here, if applicable (please mark ONE or MORE of these languages using a "*") b. If applicable, please indicate below the particular environment(s) of this language you use (for example, Borland C++ versus Microsoft C++). (*) environment: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ insert environment name(s) here ----------------------------------------------------------- Section B: PROGRAMMER BACKGROUND - these questions will give me some idea of your background and level of experience. Programmer experience and background is reputedly one of the most influential factors when dealing with error messages. The term "this language" refers to the one selected in question one. 2a.How many years have you been actively programming in this language? less than one year 1-2 years 3-5 years 5-10 years more than ten years (please mark ONE of these year ranges with a "*") NOTE: By "actively programming", I mean consistent use of a particular language on a regular basis. For example, usage for at least an hour each day or a couple of hours each week, say, in the regime of a course/degree/job of some sort. b. Using the levels of experience below, how experienced would you rate yourself in this language? novice programmer intermediate programmer expert programmer (*) other: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ insert other level of experience, if applicable (please mark ONE of these levels with a "*") NOTE: A "novice" programmer is still learning the language, needs to refer to manuals frequently and is often inefficient in using the language. An "intermediate" programmer is comfortable with the language and is familiar with most of/all of the commands of the language. An "expert" programmer uses the language in the most efficient way possible and spends time searching for better ways to use the language. 3. Which other languages have you used? Please also indicate your level of experience in each language you've used by marking each one with a number indicating the number of years you have been actively using the language. For example, "3 c" would indicate three years experience in the C language. ada dylan ml rexx apl eiffel modula2 sas asm forth modula3 sather awk fortran oberon scheme basic functional objective-c sigplan visual-basic hermes pascal smalltalk c icon perl tcl c++ idl pop teco cobol intercal postscript verilog cfutures lisp prograph vhdl clos logo prolog visual clu misc python (*) other: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ insert other language here, if applicable (please mark ONE or MORE of these languages with a number) ----------------------------------------------------------- Section C: ERROR MESSAGES - these questions are the most important part of the questionnaire; they will tell me how you rate the quality of the error messages in this language. By "error messages", I mean the messages generated by the compiler/interpreter when your code is being compiled or interpreted (probably due to a syntax violation), or at run-time. 4. What is your general impression of the quality of error messages in this language? poor below average average good excellent (please mark ONE of these levels of quality with a "*") 5. Using the kinds of problems below, how do you see the error messages in this language being deficient? obscure/vague in content misleading in information unfriendly in tone unhelpful in removing error jargonistic in wording accusatory in tone (*) other: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ insert other problem, if applicable (please mark NONE/SOME/ALL of these problems with a "*") ----------------------------------------------------------- Section D: OPTIONAL - only answer this question if you wish to and can remember the wording of some of the error messages in this language. 6. What are some of the most common error messages you encounter in this language? (also indicate whether they are satisfactory/unsatisfactory, and how you would improve them) (>) --- (please put your answer below here) (<) --- (please put your answer above here) NOTE: The term "satisfactory/unsatisfactory" in the above question refers to your opinion as to whether the error message clearly indicates the source of the error and how to remove the error. ----------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for the time and effort spent in making your contribution.