ABSTRACT
Programmers who are blind use a screen reader to speak source code one word at a time, as though the code were text. For example, "float f = 5.23;" can be read as "float f equals five point two three semicolon". This process of reading is in stark contrast to sighted programmers, who skim source code rapidly with their eyes. At present, it is not known whether the difference in these processes has effects on the program comprehension gained from reading code. These effects are important because they could reduce both the usefulness of accessibility tools and the generalizability of software engineering studies to persons with low vision. Furthermore, a lack of knowledge about blind programmers contributes to a bias against employing blind programmers. Employers are unfamiliar with the idea of a blind programmer and as a result may feel unsure about hiring one.
- Ameer Armaly, Paige Rodeghero, and Collin McMillan. 2017. A Comparison of Program Comprehension Strategies by Blind and Sighted Programmers. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering (2017). 2729548Google Scholar
- Paige Rodeghero, Collin McMillan, Paul W. McBurney, Nigel Bosch, and Sidney D'Mello. 2014. Improving Automated Source Code Summarization via an Eye-Tracking Study of Programmers. In Proceedings of the 36th international conference on Software engineering (ICSE '14). 12. Google ScholarDigital Library
Index Terms
- A comparison of program comprehension strategies by blind and sighted programmers
Recommendations
A Comparison of Program Comprehension Strategies by Blind and Sighted Programmers
Programmers who are blind use a screen reader to speak source code one word at a time, as though the code were text. This process of reading is in stark contrast to sighted programmers, who skim source code rapidly with their eyes. At present, it is not ...
What Makes Videos Accessible to Blind and Visually Impaired People?
CHI '21: Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing SystemsUser-generated videos are an increasingly important source of information online, yet most online videos are inaccessible to blind and visually impaired (BVI) people. To find videos that are accessible, or understandable without additional description ...
Blind Leading the Sighted: Drawing Design Insights from Blind Users towards More Productivity-oriented Voice Interfaces
Regular Papers and Special Issue on ASSETS 2018Voice-activated personal assistants (VAPAs) are becoming smaller, cheaper, and more accurate, such that they are now prevalent in homes (e.g., Amazon Echo, Sonos One) and on mobile devices (e.g., Google Assistant, Apple Siri) around the world. VAPAs ...
Comments