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Towards a conceptual framework for object oriented software metrics

Published: 01 April 1995 Publication History

Abstract

The development of software metrics for object oriented (OO) languages is receiving increasing attention. We examine the reasons why this is a much more challenging problem than for conventional languages. It seems premature to develop and apply OO metrics while there remains uncertainty not only about the precise definitions of many fundamental quantities and their subsequent impact on derived metrics, but also a lack of qualitative understanding of the structure and behaviour of OO systems. We argue that establishing a standard terminology and data model will help provide a framework for both theoretical and empirical work and increase the chances of early success. One potential benefit is improvement of the ability to perform independent validation of models and metrics. We propose a data model and terminology and illustrate the importance of such definitions by examining the seemingly straightforward concept of the number of methods per class. We discuss the implications of ambiguities in definitions for a suite of metrics which has recently been proposed. Preliminary results from our analysis of industrial systems are presented.

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  • (2017)Using discriminative feature in software entities for relevance identification of code changesJournal of Software: Evolution and Process10.1002/smr.185929:7(e1859)Online publication date: 17-Mar-2017
  • (2015)Feature-Level Change Impact Analysis Using Formal Concept AnalysisInternational Journal of Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering10.1142/S021819401540004525:01(69-92)Online publication date: Feb-2015
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Information

Published In

cover image ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes
ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes  Volume 20, Issue 2
April 1995
92 pages
ISSN:0163-5948
DOI:10.1145/224155
Issue’s Table of Contents

Publisher

Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 01 April 1995
Published in SIGSOFT Volume 20, Issue 2

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Cited By

View all
  • (2017)Classification of Technical and Management Metrics in Object Oriented Software EngineeringProceedings of International Conference on Communication and Networks10.1007/978-981-10-2750-5_29(277-286)Online publication date: 8-Apr-2017
  • (2017)Using discriminative feature in software entities for relevance identification of code changesJournal of Software: Evolution and Process10.1002/smr.185929:7(e1859)Online publication date: 17-Mar-2017
  • (2015)Feature-Level Change Impact Analysis Using Formal Concept AnalysisInternational Journal of Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering10.1142/S021819401540004525:01(69-92)Online publication date: Feb-2015
  • (2011)Using structural and textual information to capture feature coupling in object-oriented softwareEmpirical Software Engineering10.1007/s10664-011-9159-716:6(773-811)Online publication date: 1-Dec-2011
  • (2010)Exploring the Difference Between Object Oriented Class Inheritance and Interfaces Using Coupling MeasuresProceedings of the 2010 International Conference on Advances in Computer Engineering10.1109/ACE.2010.25(207-211)Online publication date: 20-Jun-2010
  • (2008)Metrics for Measuring the Quality of Modularization of Large-Scale Object-Oriented SoftwareIEEE Transactions on Software Engineering10.1109/TSE.2008.4334:5(700-720)Online publication date: Sep-2008
  • (2007)Developing Search Strategies for Detecting Relevant Experiments for Systematic ReviewsProceedings of the First International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement10.1109/ESEM.2007.39(215-224)Online publication date: 20-Sep-2007
  • (2006)Measurement of Intra-Class & Inter-Class Weakness for Object-Oriented SoftwareProceedings of the Third International Conference on Information Technology: New Generations10.1109/ITNG.2006.89(155-160)Online publication date: 10-Apr-2006
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  • (2005)Parsing and Semantic Modelling for Software Engineering ApplicationsProceedings of the 2005 Australian conference on Software Engineering10.1109/ASWEC.2005.36(180-189)Online publication date: 29-Mar-2005
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