Complexity Measure for the Prototype System Description Language (PSDL)

Abstract

We often misunderstand, ill-define or improperly measure the complexity of software. Software complexity is represented by the degree of complication of a system determined by such factors as control flow, information flow, the degree of nesting, the types of data structures, and other system characteristics, such as unconventional architectures. However, a common notion of software complexity fulfills a non-functional requirement, that of understandability. How well do we understand the control flow, the data structure, etc.? Rapid prototyping is an excellent tool to define system requirements and decrease developmental risk. Software complexity measured early (i.e., during prototyping), helps to minimize the complexity, which in turn helps to decrease the developmental risk also. The Prototype System Description Language (PSDL) provides the necessary code to achieve rapid prototyping. As a result, we have a need to accurately measure the complexity of PSDL.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2002
Accession Number
ADA411245

Entities

People

  • Joseph P. Dupont

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Application Software
  • Basic Programming Language
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Control Systems
  • Engineers
  • Information Systems
  • Language
  • Models
  • Product Prototyping
  • Programming Languages
  • Prototypes
  • Software Development
  • Software Metrics
  • Software Prototyping
  • Spreadsheet Software

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Software Engineering.
  • Systems Analysis and Design