Using visualization for architectural localization and extraction

Understanding the architecture of a program requires determining both the major components into which the system is broken and the ways in which the components interact to accomplish the program's goals. Both static and dynamic analyses of the software can aid in obtaining this understanding. The paper describes an analysis technique for gaining such understanding and a visualization tool, called ISVis, that supports it. The technique is applied to the problem of enhancing the Mosaic Web browser by both visualizing its architecture and finding the components of the browser into which an enhancement should be inserted.

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