Estimation of generic reusability for object-oriented software an empirical approach

Abstract

Inheritance and templates are key concepts in object-oriented programming (OOP), and are essential for achieving reusability and extendibility. The aim of this paper is to explore traditional Halstead's metrics and use them to propose more software metrics related to generic method and attributes in an object-oriented software. These metrics measure quantitative generic construct with inheritance in an object-oriented code. Two metrics GRr (Generic Reusability Ratio) and ERr (Effort Ratio) are proposed in this paper. First metric GRr (Generic Reusability Ratio) measures impact of template in program volume and second metric ERr (Effort Ratio) measures impact of template in development effort. These metrics will be a tool for estimating and evaluating costs of program design and program tests as well as program complexity.