Using fuzzy sets for retrieval of software for reuse

This dissertation provides an analysis of the use of fuzzy sets for retrieval of software for the purpose of reuse. The need for quality software components is growing exponentially but the ability of software developers to meet this need is not. One major goal of any programmer is to develop quality software in an efficient amount of time. By reusing an already created and tested piece of code, programmers can do just that. Most development teams hesitate from the reuse realm because they cannot find quality software quickly. Software needs to be easily accessible and the results of a query to find quality software need to meet a user's expectation. Most software search algorithms are based on a Boolean search, where a term used to describe a given software component either matches or doesn't match a queried term. Here, using fuzzy logic, a term is given a weight based on its degree of membership, which will result in a weighted list of matches while maintaining the semantics of Boolean logic. The result is a list of matched documents in descending order by how well the document matches the queried term.;Various methods of information retrieval implementation, analysis of fuzzy set retrieval, and benefits of its use for software reuse are examined and presented in this dissertation. A deeper explanation of the fundamentals of designing a fuzzy information retrieval system for software look up will also be examined. Future research options and necessary data storage systems will be explained as well.;The results will show that the fuzzy methods did provide a better match to a user's query, with an increased mean average precision over a Boolean search by over 20%.