학술논문

Assessing the Real Impact of Open-Source Components in Software Systems
Document Type
Periodical
Source
IEEE Access Access, IEEE. 11:111226-111237 2023
Subject
Aerospace
Bioengineering
Communication, Networking and Broadcast Technologies
Components, Circuits, Devices and Systems
Computing and Processing
Engineered Materials, Dielectrics and Plasmas
Engineering Profession
Fields, Waves and Electromagnetics
General Topics for Engineers
Geoscience
Nuclear Engineering
Photonics and Electrooptics
Power, Energy and Industry Applications
Robotics and Control Systems
Signal Processing and Analysis
Transportation
Open source software
Libraries
Software development management
Inspect
dependency
library
age
vulnerability
Language
ISSN
2169-3536
Abstract
Open-source libraries form the backbone of modern software systems, making software composition analysis (SCA) a vital part of the software development cycle. Despite its importance, current SCA methods, primarily focusing on open-source component issues, lack comprehensive analysis of these components’ integration into the software system. This paper proposes an advanced SCA approach that simultaneously considers open-source component issues and their integration into a software system. We introduce a novel meta-model that links a library with its source code dependencies and enables a unified analysis, irrespective of the originating package manager or open-source repository. The proposed approach, instantiated through a code analysis tool and adapters for major package managers and repositories, was applied to over 200 popular GitHub projects. Results confirm that the impact of open-source component issues largely depends on their integration level in the software system, validating our assumption that effective risk management requires understanding of the open-source component use within the system. Our work, therefore, provides an enriched methodology for SCA.