Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/4805
Title: An empirical investigation of an object-oriented software system
Authors: Cartwright, MH
Shepperd, M
Keywords: Metrics;Object orientation;Empirical analysis
Issue Date: 2000
Publisher: IEEE
Citation: IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 26(8): 786-796, Aug 2000
Abstract: This paper describes an empirical investigation into an industrial object-oriented (OO) system comprised of 133,000 lines of C++. The system was a subsystem of a telecommunications product and was developed using the Shlaer-Mellor method. From this study, we found that there was little use of OO constructs such as inheritance and, therefore, polymorphism. It was also found that there was a significant difference in the defect densities between those classes that participated in inheritance structures and those that did not, with the former being approximately three times more defect-prone. We were able to construct useful prediction systems for size and number of defects based upon simple counts such as the number of states and events per class. Although these prediction systems are only likely to have local significance, there is a more general principle that software developers can consider building their own local prediction systems. Moreover, we believe this is possible, even in the absence of the suites of metrics that have been advocated by researchers into OO technology. As a consequence, measurement technology may be accessible to a wider group of potential users.
Description: This is the post print version of the article. The official published version can be obtained from the link below.
URI: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/4805
DOI: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/32.879814
ISSN: 0098-5589
Appears in Collections:Computer Science
Dept of Computer Science Research Papers

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