Improving Software Modularization Quality Through the Use of Multi-Pattern Modularity Clustering Algorithm

In contemporary software development processes, as the software development cycle undergoes continuous evolution, the subsequent maintenance phase often veers away from the original architectural plan. While clustering serves as an intuitive approach for implementing modularization, traditional clustering algorithms exhibit certain limitations, such as generating excessively large output modules. This paper introduces a novel multi-pattern modularity clustering algorithm (MPMC) aimed at enhancing the quality of software modularization. This algorithm hinges on two key components. Firstly, it employs a multi-pattern strategy to scrutinize the extent of dependencies between files. This involves distinct steps like tagging files, aggregating chain dependencies, and subsequently preprocessing and amalgamating the modules. Secondly, it incorporates a multi-level modularity clustering algorithm, which employs a graph partitioning technique to categorize graphs into clusters through processes like coarsening and multi-level refinement. To evaluate the performance of MPMC, five open-source and one closed-source programs, each varying in size and functionality, were employed for comparison against other conventional software grouping algorithms and existing software clustering methods. Experimental results reveal a substantial improvement in the performance of MPMC, approximately 2.71 times higher in terms of weighted modularity quality (MQ) criteria compared to alternative methods, and a 1.35 times improvement in the MoJoFM criteria. These findings establish the effectiveness of the MPMC algorithm as a valuable software clustering tool for developers, emphasizing its ability to yield superior module quality in comparison to other methods.

I. Introduction

In today’s society, software plays an indispensable role. With the persistent growth in both size and complexity of software, it is unavoidable that certain bugs or issues may persist even after the product is delivered to users. In the process of analysis and design, developers plan a new system by defining the architecture of the system and its components or modules to satisfy specific requirements. However, as the software development cycle continues to evolve, the systems grow huge and complex. Furthermore, rapid change to the hardware platform and software technologies are also becoming challenging for software maintenance [1] [2]. The software quality eventually declines after the maintenance activities [3]–[7]