Refactored data clumps with the help of LLMs (research project)

[compf]

What is the purpose of the change

Hello maintainers,

I am conducting a master thesis project focused on enhancing code quality through automated refactoring of data clumps, assisted by Large Language Models (LLMs).

Data clump definition

A data clump exists if

1. two methods (in the same or in different classes) have at least 3 common parameters and one of those methods does not override the other, or
2. At least three fields in a class are common with the parameters of a method (in the same or in a different class), or
3. Two different classes have at least three common fields

See also the following UML diagram as an example

I believe these refactoring can contribute to the project by reducing complexity and enhancing readability of your source code.

Pursuant to the EU AI Act, I fully disclose the use of LLMs in generating these refactorings, emphasizing that all changes have undergone human review for quality assurance.

Even if you decide not to integrate my changes to your codebase (which is perfectly fine), I ask you to fill out a feedback survey, which will be scientifically evaluated to determine the acceptance of AI-supported refactorings. You can find the feedback survey under https://campus.lamapoll.de/Data-clump-refactoring/en

Thank you for considering my contribution. I look forward to your feedback. If you have any other questions or comments, feel free to write a comment, or email me under [email protected] .

Best regards, Timo Schoemaker Department of Computer Science University of Osnabrück

Checklist

• [x] I have read the Contributing Guidelines on pull requests.
• [ x] I have explained the need for this PR and the problem it solves
• [ ] I have explained the changes or the new features added to this PR
• [ ] I have added tests corresponding to this change
• [ ] I have updated the documentation to reflect this change
• [ ] I have verified that this change is backward compatible (If not, please discuss on the Linkis mailing list first)
• [ ] If this is a code change: I have written unit tests to fully verify the new behavior.