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Extending Halstead's software science for a more precise measure of APL

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Published:26 July 1982Publication History
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Abstract

Software engineering is a growing part of computer science. Software engineering attempts to put measurements and metrics into the area of software programming. One of these metrics, Halstead's software science [1], measures a program's difficulty, a language level, and in turn, a programmer's productivity. Software science uses an extensive measure as opposed to the intensive measure of most other software engineering techniques. This is accomplished by counting functions and operands, and applying several formulae modified from thermodynamics. Even though software science attempts to place an objective measurement on these parameters, it is not meant to be a definitive decision tool, but rather a general guideline. This paper will explore the possible extension of Halstead's theory to include operators, as defined in APL, in the counting methodology and software science formulae.

References

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            • Published in

              cover image ACM SIGAPL APL Quote Quad
              ACM SIGAPL APL Quote Quad  Volume 13, Issue 1
              September 1982
              380 pages
              ISSN:0163-6006
              DOI:10.1145/390006
              • Editors:
              • W. H. Janko,
              • W. Stucky
              Issue’s Table of Contents

              Copyright © 1982 Authors

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              Association for Computing Machinery

              New York, NY, United States

              Publication History

              • Published: 26 July 1982

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