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From: daves@hpopd.pwd.hp.com (Dave Straker)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Counting semicolons (was: Re: WANTED: "C" code line counter program)
Message-ID: <36650004@hpopd.pwd.hp.com>
Date: 16 Apr 91 17:04:59 GMT
References: <RICHARD.91Mar12184440@dompap.iesd.auc.dk>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard CCG-PWD, UK.
Lines: 18

On measuring complexity...

Before you measure anything, you should ask: Why am I doing this?
What am I going to do with the information? What questions will
it help answer? What decisions will it help me make?

Thus, for example, you might be measuring complexity in order
to find defect-prone modules which you might inspect.

Note the word 'help' in the above questions. Metrics don't make
decisions for you. Thus, you wouldn't just blindly inspect all
modules with a McCabe factor of >10, but you would look at them,
and ask: Does this look like inspection would help? The final
decision is human.

Dave Straker            Pinewood Information Systems Division (PWD not PISD)
[8-{)                   HPDESK: David Straker/HP1600/01
                        Unix:   daves@hpopd.pwd.hp.com