This research investigated the evolution of an open source development community by undertaking network analysis across time. Several open source communities have been previously studied using network analysis techniques, including Apache, Debian, Drupal, Python, and SourceForge. However, only static snapshots of the network were considered by previous research. In this research, we created a tool that can help researchers and practitioners to find out how the Eclipse development community dynamically evolved over time. The input dataset was collected from the Eclipse Foundation, and then the evolution of the Eclipse development community was visualized and analyzed by using different network analysis techniques. Six network analysis techniques were applied: (i) visualization, (ii) weight filtering, (iii) degree centrality, (iv) eigenvector centrality, (v) betweenness centrality, and (vi) closeness centrality. Results include the benefits of performing multiple techniques in combination, and the analysis of the evolution of an open source development community.ii
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.