Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!munnari!mulga!ditmela!latcs1!ken
From: ken@latcs1.oz (Ken Lew)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Software complexity metrics
Message-ID: <3795@latcs1.oz>
Date: 14 Dec 87 00:35:24 GMT
Reply-To: ken@latcs1.oz (Ken Lew)
Organization: Comp Sci, La Trobe Uni, Australia
Lines: 26


In article 87 of comp.software-eng:
From: rion@wdl1.UUCP (Rion Cassidy)

>However, except for what the name implies, I really don't know what
>program complexity metrics are and therefore can't answer.  How about
>a brief overview?  Anybody?

Program complexity metric is used to indicate the "quality" of a program by
measuring certain characteristics such as program size, number of
decision statements, information flow, etc.

For example, McCabe's cyclomatic number measures the number of
independent paths in a program and is related to the number of decision
statements. McCabe has used the metric to control the number of paths in a
program module to increase the program test coverage.

Although non of the complexity metrics has been validated, some empirical
studies have found them useful in software development.

For reference, read: Software Metrics: An analysis and evaluation,
                     ed. A. Perlis et. al., MIT, 1981


ken@latcs1
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