A Study of Variability Spaces in Open Source Software

Configurable software systems allow users to customize them according to their needs. Supporting such variability is commonly divided into three parts: configuration space, build space, and code space. In this research abstract, we describe our work in exploring what information these spaces contain in practice, and if this information is consistent. This involves investigating how these spaces work together to ensure that variability is correctly implemented, and to avoid any inconsistencies or anomalies. Our work identifies how variability is implemented in several configurable systems, and initially focuses on less studied parts such as the build system. Our goals include: 1) investigating what information each space provides, 2) quantifying the variability in the build system, 3) studying the effect of build system constraints on variability anomalies, and 4) analyzing how variability anomalies are introduced and fixed. Achieving these goals would help developers make informed decisions when designing variable software, and improve maintainability of existing configurable systems.