Searching Design Patterns Fast by Using Tree Traversals

Large software systems need to be modified to remain useful. Changes can be more easily performed when their design has been carefully documented. This paper presents an approach to quickly find design patterns that have been implemented into a software system. The devised solution greatly reduces the performed checks by organising the search for a design pattern as tree traversals, where candidate classes are carefully positioned into trees. By automatically tagging classes with design pattern roles we make it easier for developers to reason with large software systems. Our approach can provide documentation that lets developers understand the role each class is playing, assess the quality of the code, have assistance for refactoring and enhancing the functionalities of the software system.