A Catalog of Object-Relational Mapping Code Smells for Java

• Samuel Loli UFPE
• Leopoldo Teixeira UFPE
• Bruno Cartaxo IFPE

Resumo

Bad choices during software development might lead to maintenance and performance issues. Code smells are typically used to indicate such problems. A number of smells have been proposed, usually focused on generic code problems. In this work, we focus on the specifics of Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) code in Java. Developers use ORM frameworks to abstract the complexity of accessing a database. However, when poorly used, frameworks can lead to problems that might affect the overall performance of the system. Therefore, we present a catalog of eight smells extracted from the state of research and practice, through a combination of rapid review and grey literature review. For each smell, we also present a suggested solution and rationale. To evaluate the catalog, we conducted a survey with 86 respondents. The majority of the respondents agree both that the code smells are a problem, as well as that the suggested solution is adequate. In conclusion, this work contributes with a systematic way of describing ORM code smells and an initial catalog, which can be useful for researchers and practitioners, positively evaluated by our initial results.