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From: jdz@wucec2.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.lang
Subject: Re: bugs in assembler vs. C
Message-ID: <1437@wucec2.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 3-Mar-86 22:47:43 EST
Article-I.D.: wucec2.1437
Posted: Mon Mar  3 22:47:43 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 7-Mar-86 06:34:36 EST
Reply-To: jdz@wucec2.UUCP (Jason D. Zions)
Distribution: net
Organization: Wash. U. Center for Engineering Computing
Lines: 18

In article <832@ellie.UUCP> colonel@ellie.UUCP writes:
>> On point B:, studies have shown that the number of errors or changes is
>> exponentially related to the number of lines of code.  One study indicates
>> that the average is one error per 1000 lines.
>You don't mean "exponentially," do you?  (Though it applies to _some_
>programmers I know....)

Uh, yes, He did mean exponentially. Really. I don't recall the exact study which
made this claim, but I do recall that it was exponential in some constant
fraction of the number of lines. The expression was reasonable for up to about
200 lines, then quickly exploded. This is just a memory, though, so please
don't yell at me. If you do run across the paper or real numbers, please feel
free to post them.
-- 
Jason D. Zions			...!{seismo,cbosgd,ihnp4}!wucs!wucec2!jdz
Box 1045 Washington University
St. Louis MO 63130  USA		(314) 889-6160
Nope, I didn't say nothing. Just random noise.