Programmers routinely use source code snippets to increase their productivity. However, locating and adapting code snippets to the current context still takes time: for example, variables must be renamed, and dependencies included. We believe that when programmers decide to invest time in creating a new code snippet from scratch, they would also be willing to spend additional effort to make that code snippet configurable and easy to integrate. To explore this insight, we built SnipMatch, a plug-in for the Eclipse IDE. SnipMatch introduces a simple markup that allows snippet authors to specify search patterns and integration instructions. SnipMatch leverages this information, in conjunction with current code context, to improve snippet search and parameterization. For example, when a search query includes local variables, SnipMatch suggests compatible snippets, and automatically adapts them by substituting in these variables. In the lab, we observed that participants integrated snippets faster when using SnipMatch than when using standard Eclipse. Findings from a public deployment to 93 programmers suggest that SnipMatch has become integrated into the work practices of real users.

This paper reports on a direct test of social responses to communication technologies theory (SRCT) with mobile messaging. SRCT predicts that people will mindlessly respond to computers in social ways that mirror their responses to humans. A field experiment (N=71) using participants' own mobile phones compared three influence strategies (direct request, flattery, and social norms) in the context of asking intimate questions of participants. These messages came from either an ostensibly human or computer sender. Flattery significantly increased self-disclosure when ostensibly sent by a human, but not when from a computer. The interaction effect for sender and influence strategy is inconsistent with SRCT's predictions. Implications for theories of source orientation, research methods, and future research are discussed.