methodstranslate

Methodstranslate is a software library and toolkit designed to map programming method names and signatures to descriptive, human-readable phrases. The project focuses on improving code readability, searchability, and API documentation by producing natural-language equivalents for methods across multiple programming languages.

It analyzes code using language-specific parsers and abstract syntax trees, supports languages such as Java, C#, Python, and Kotlin, and can generate per-method aliases, multilingual glossaries, and mapping files. It can output refactored code or comments, and provides a CLI and IDE integrations.

Core components include a parser layer, a semantic analysis module, a translation engine that blends rule-based templates with statistical models, and a storage layer for glossary and mappings. The translation can be context-aware, considering class, module, and usage patterns.

Typical workflows involve refreshing a glossary, running translation to produce aliases, applying changes with automated refactors, and exporting documentation or search indexes. It can be used in code review, onboarding, and API documentation generation.

Limitations include ambiguity in method naming, potential performance overhead on large codebases, and the need to curate domain-specific terminology. Outputs are intended as suggestions and should be reviewed by developers.

See also code readability, API documentation, and localization in software engineering.