Comments on "A metrics suite for object oriented design

A suite of object oriented software metrics has recently been proposed by S.R. Chidamber and C.F. Kemerer (see ibid., vol. 20, p. 476-94, 1994). While the authors have taken care to ensure their metrics have a sound measurement theoretical basis, we argue that is premature to begin applying such met...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on software engineering Vol. 21; no. 3; pp. 263 - 265
Main Authors: Churcher, N.I., Shepperd, M.J., Chidamber, S., Kemerer, C.F.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 01.03.1995
Subjects:
Algorithm design and analysis
Application software
Engineering management
Information analysis
Software algorithms
Software engineering
Software measurement
Software metrics
Software systems
Terminology
ISSN:0098-5589
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:A suite of object oriented software metrics has recently been proposed by S.R. Chidamber and C.F. Kemerer (see ibid., vol. 20, p. 476-94, 1994). While the authors have taken care to ensure their metrics have a sound measurement theoretical basis, we argue that is premature to begin applying such metrics while there remains uncertainty about the precise definitions of many of the quantities to be observed and their impact upon subsequent indirect metrics. In particular, we show some of the ambiguities associated with the seemingly simple concept of the number of methods per class. The usefulness of the proposed metrics, and others, would be greatly enhanced if clearer guidance concerning their application to specific languages were to be provided. Such empirical considerations are as important as the theoretical issues raised by the authors.< >
ISSN:0098-5589
DOI:10.1109/32.372153