The Complexity Analysis Tool

Abstract

This report presents an overview of the complexity analysis tool (CAT), an automated tool which will analyze mission critical computer resources (MCCR) software. CAT is based on the cyclomatic complexity metric, which is used to measure, quantity, or evaluate a software module's complexity. Software which is less complex is easier to maintain and is less likely to have embedded errors. The metric suggest the minimum number of paths which must be tested in order to assure software reliability. The ideal limit of complexity is 10 for any software module. A module of complexity greater than 10 would need to be modified or redesigned. Applied during software development, the complexity measure limits the number of independent paths in a program at the design and coding stages so that testing will be manageable during the later stages. This allows for structured testing, avoiding the problems arising from software which is inherently untestable. This testing technique can be applied during all stages of testing (i.e., unit, integration, and qualification testing).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 1988
Accession Number
ADA201700

Entities

People

  • Paul E. Janusz

Organizations

  • United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Classification
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Debugging
  • Engineering
  • Life Cycles
  • Manufacturing
  • Operating Systems
  • Reliability
  • Robotics
  • Security
  • Software Development
  • Software Testing
  • Structured Programming
  • Test And Evaluation

Fields of Study

  • Computer science
  • Engineering

Readers

  • Applied Combinatorial Optimization and Logic Circuit Design.
  • Software Engineering
  • Software Engineering.