Metaphors we Program By: Space, Action and Society in Java

A corpus analysis of the standard Java documentation revealed the range of conceptual metaphors shared by library authors and users of packages such as java.util and java.bean. These metaphors included the expected mental models of internal program behaviour, but also consistent references to a spatial image-world with material properties and flows. More surprisingly, program components are metaphorically understood as actors with beliefs and intentions, working together according to social relationships. Rather than mechanical imperative models or mathematical declarative ones, it seems that one of the most widespread bases for conceptual models of programming is of social entities that act as proxies for their developers. This may have significant implications for the design of new programming languages and environments.