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Title: Software in the DOE: The Hidden Overhead of''The Build''

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/15005938· OSTI ID:15005938

''The Build'' is the infrastructure needed to convert software from source code to usable form. It is intimately tied to the software it supports, knowing about every file and automating every transformation needed to produce a working program. Every developer knows that a project spends some labor overhead on ''the build.'' How big is this hidden overhead? According to 34 scientific software developers we surveyed at Lawrence Livermore National Labs, among colleagues at other DOE labs, and a handful of academics the ''perceived'' overhead averages around 12%. Individual cases of 20% to 30% were not uncommon. In one project claiming a 20% overhead, we found supporting evidence by combing through their CVS repository.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
US Department of Energy (US)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
15005938
Report Number(s):
UCRL-ID-147343; TRN: US200402%%225
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: 28 Feb 2002
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English