Indexing the Java API Using Source Code

The basic idea behind software reuse is that software developers use reusable components found in software repositories to reduce the amount of code that has to be written and so increase productivity. A problem arises, however, if the repository is too big - it becomes difficult to find relevant components. What is needed is an effective means to query repositories. Most approaches to developing such means involves creating a good index to which the queries can be applied. Developing a good index requires identifying the relevant information on which to base the index. In this paper, we present the results of a project that used source code as the basis for the index.