Source Code Exploration with Google

The paper presents a new approach to source code exploration, which is the result of integrating the Google Desktop Search (GDS) engine into the Eclipse development environment. The resulting search engine, named Google Eclipse Search (GES), provides improved searching in Eclipse software projects. The paper advocates for a component-based approach that allows us to develop strong tools, which support various maintenance tasks, by leveraging the strengths of existing frameworks and components. The development effort for such tools is reduced, while customization and flexibility, to fully support user needs, is maintained. GES allows developers to search software projects in a manner similar to searching the internet or their own desktops. The proposed approach takes advantages of the power of GDS for quick and accurate searching and of Eclipse’s extensibility. The paper discusses usage scenarios, advantages, limitations, and possible extensions of the proposed tandem. 1