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Sharing Is Scaring: Linking Cloud File-Sharing to Programming Language Semantics
yler Austen, Shriram Krishnamurthi, Kathi Fisler SPLASH Onward!, 2025 Abstract Users often struggle with cloud file-sharing applications. Problems appear to arise not only from interface flaws, but also from misunderstanding the underlying semantics of operations like linking, attaching, downloading, and editing.
We argue that these difficulties echo long-standing challenges in understanding concepts in programming languages like aliasing, copying, and mutation. We also develop a formal semantics of cloud file-sharing operations, reflecting copying, referencing, and mutating shared content. By explicating the semantics, we aim to provide a formal foundation for improving mental models, educational tools, and automated assistance.
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