Chapter 47. Efficient Objects

Engineering is based on measurement. A bridge has to be long enough to span the river and strong enough to support a specified static load. It must have the structural stability to cope with maximum expected wind velocities and to remain standing after tremors of a certain magnitude. Measurement is no less important in software engineering, yet software metrics are still often regarded as an advanced or esoteric subject of interest primarily to academics seeking research grants or defense contractors meeting government paperwork quotas.

Software metrics are a matter of putting things into numbers, hence they can be based on almost anything that can be counted, rated, or ranked. The best known metrics are measures of ...

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