Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!cmcl2!husc6!hao!umigw!steve
From: steve@umigw.MIAMI.EDU (steve emmerson)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Software Complexity Measures Will Never Be Accurate
Message-ID: <125@umigw.MIAMI.EDU>
Date: 16 Jan 88 00:57:39 GMT
References: <5874@sol.ARPA>
Reply-To: emmerson@mami.miami.edu (steve emmerson)
Organization: University of Miami
Lines: 16

In article <5874@sol.ARPA> crowl@cs.rochester.edu (Lawrence Crowl) writes:
>...   Algorithmic
>measures of complexity fail to capture the set of assumptions within a piece
>of code, and therefore are inaccurate measures of actual complexity.  

Interesting.  This dovetails nicely with another software-metric assertion:
namely, that software metrics are applicable only *within* an organization
for the purpose of comparing one routine with another.  It could be that
each software development entity constructs, conciously or otherwise, a 
standard set of assumptions.  Thus enabling the valid *intra*-entity use of 
software metrics; but hopelessly failing for inter-entity comparisons.

-- 
Steve Emmerson                     Inet: emmerson@miami.miami.edu [192.31.89.4]
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