The Programmer's Apprentice: a research overview

Abstract

The long-term goal of the Programmer's Apprentice project is to develop a theory of how expert programmers analyze, synthesize, modify, explain, specify, verify, and document programs. The authors present their vision of the Programmer's Apprentice, the principles and techniques underlying it, and their progress toward it. The primary vehicle for this exposition is three scenarios illustrating the use of the Apprentice in three phases of the programming task: implementation, design, and requirements. The first scenario is taken from a completed working prototype. The second and third scenarios are the targets for prototype systems currently under construction.