VariCity Ecosystem

This site references information related to the VariCity Ecosystem.


VariCity Ecosystem

In object-oriented variability-rich software systems, the implemented variability often relies on traditional mechanisms (i.e. inheritance, overloading, and design patterns). It is then not well-documented and buried in a single codebase, hampering its comprehension and maintenance. VariCity helps developers understand the implemented variability in Java and TypeScript using a 3D city metaphor in which classes are buildings shaped by the occurrences of variability implementations, while usage relationships form the city streets. Extensions of VariCity support IDE integration with navigation and spot zones with variability debt through quality metrics mapped on the city buildings.

varicity-screenshot

This page groups together all references to other pages, zenodo packages, and papers related to VariCity and its extensions, namely Varimetrics and Varimetrics-IDE.

VariCity for Java

  • Reproduction package of the VISSOFT’2021 publication, with the generated visualizations on ten subject systems, available on Zenodo.
  • Artifact files of Artifact Evaluation Track and ROSE Festival at ICSME 2021, available on Zenodo (won Best Artifact Award).
  • Demonstration video at the same conference: https://youtu.be/89qSoskyRQI.
  • Slides, questionnaires, and answers of a controlled experiment with around 50 users are available here.
  • Source code of VariCity(Java) available on GitHub.
  • Varicity demo page, available here.

VariMetrics and VariMetrics-IDE

VariCity for TypeScript

  • Reproduction package for the submission to SCP open software, available on Zenodo.
  • Source code of VariCity(TypeScript) available on GitHub.

Publications

  • “The VariCity ecosystem: City visualization of object-oriented variability in Java and TypeScript” published in SCP journal, Feb 2025 here.
  • “Visualization of Object-Oriented Software in a City Metaphor: Comprehending the Implemented Variability and its Technical Debt” published in JSS journal, Feb 2024 here.
  • Customizable Visualization of Quality Metrics for Object-Oriented Variability Implementations. published at SPLC ’22 here.
  • IDE-assisted visualization of indebted OO variability implementations. Demo track of SPLC ’22 here.
  • “Visualization of Object-Oriented Variability Implementations as Cities” published at VISSOFT 2021 here.

Contact Us

Philippe Collet

Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, I3S
Sophia Antipolis, France
philippe [dot] collet [at] univ-cotedazur [dot] fr