An object oriented complexity metric based on cognitive weights

Abstract

Complexity in general is defined as "the degree to which a system or component has a design or implementation that is difficult to understand and verify". Complexity metrics are used to predict critical information about reliability and maintainability of software systems. Object oriented software development requires a different approach to software metrics. In this paper, an attempt has been made to propose a metric for an object oriented code, which calculates the complexity of a class at method level. The proposed measure considers the internal architecture of the class, subclass, and member functions, while other proposed metrics for object oriented programming do not. An attempt has also been made to evaluate and validate the proposed measure in terms of Weyuker's properties and against the principles of measurement theory. It has been found that seven of nine Weyuker's properties have been satisfied by the proposed measure. It also satisfies most of the parameters required by the measurement theory perspective, hence establishes as a well-structured one.