But mostly metrics should not be telling you things you can't already know just looking at the code; if it looks complicated, it probably is. Metrics only become useful when you need to tell without looking. Sometimes that's useful.
Measuring Software Complexity: What Metrics to Use?
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Re: Measuring Software Complexity: What Metrics to Use?
#12Somehow it is more important to measure "gratuitous" complexity, redundant complexity that is not justified by present or plausible future requirements...
The problem is that the code itself does not capture requirements, so code analysis can give you absolute indicators but never an "efficiency" measure (how efficient and justified the measured complexity)
Re: Measuring Software Complexity: What Metrics to Use?
#13Re: Measuring Software Complexity: What Metrics to Use?
#14Ugh, no. I’ve worked in a codebase where CI would reject changes that had too much ‘code complexity’. You’d constantly have to find clever ways to split up your code, when doing so did not make sense, to appease the complexity checker. Oh yeah, and if you ever make a one-liner change, you might end up being forced to do a full refactor because that one line pushed the complexity threshold over the edge. The results:…
Re: Measuring Software Complexity: What Metrics to Use?
#15No mention of function points.
Functionalities like undo/redo take a lot of planning, coordination and integration efforts than others like a simple export function, but good luck selling that to any marketing or product owner for xx manndays.
I still think that this subject is way too specific to be generalized like this, but general thumb of rules still apply like good estimation and technical planning.
Re: Measuring Software Complexity: What Metrics to Use?
#16Ugh, no. I’ve worked in a codebase where CI would reject changes that had too much ‘code complexity’. You’d constantly have to find clever ways to split up your code, when doing so did not make sense, to appease the complexity checker. Oh yeah, and if you ever make a one-liner change, you might end up being forced to do a full refactor because that one line pushed the complexity threshold over the edge. The results:…
I do this all the time with other automated checkers (linters, etc.). I don't see why this should be different. If another human agrees it shouldnt be a problem.
Re: Measuring Software Complexity: What Metrics to Use?
#17Re: Measuring Software Complexity: What Metrics to Use?
#18I didn't see anything on Function Point counts in the article. No advocating it per se but it was, at one time, considered one of the more useful ways to evaluate codebase complexity.
Re: Measuring Software Complexity: What Metrics to Use?
#19The Einstein quote is that "something should be a simple as needed but no simpler", but how to be pin down "required" in an objective / quantifiable way? Somehow it is more important to measure "gratuitous" complexity, redundant complexity that is not justified by present or plausible future requirements... The problem is that the code itself does not capture requirements, so code analysis can give you absolute indic…
Re: Measuring Software Complexity: What Metrics to Use?
#20Ugh, no. I’ve worked in a codebase where CI would reject changes that had too much ‘code complexity’. You’d constantly have to find clever ways to split up your code, when doing so did not make sense, to appease the complexity checker. Oh yeah, and if you ever make a one-liner change, you might end up being forced to do a full refactor because that one line pushed the complexity threshold over the edge. The results:…