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Software engineering unit 3

B.tech (Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University)

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UNIT-III-So昀琀ware Design

Software design is a process to transform user requirements into some suitable form, which
helps the programmer in software coding and implementation.

For assessing user requirements, an SRS (Software Requirement Specification) document is

created whereas for coding and implementation, there is a need of more specific and detailed
requirements in software terms. The output of this process can directly be used into
implementation in programming languages.

Software design is the first step in SDLC (Software Design Life Cycle), which moves the
concentration from problem domain to solution domain. It tries to specify how to fulfill the
requirements mentioned in SRS.

Software Design Levels

Software design yields three levels of results:

• Architectural Design - The architectural design is the highest abstract version of the
system. It identifies the software as a system with many components interacting with
each other. At this level, the designers get the idea of proposed solution domain.
• High-level Design- The high-level design breaks the ‘single entity-multiple component’
concept of architectural design into less-abstracted view of sub-systems and modules and
depicts their interaction with each other. High-level design focuses on how the system
along with all of its components can be implemented in forms of modules. It recognizes
modular structure of each sub-system and their relation and interaction among each
other.
• Detailed Design- Detailed design deals with the implementation part of what is seen as a
system and its sub-systems in the previous two designs. It is more detailed towards
modules and their implementations. It defines logical structure of each module and their
interfaces to communicate with other modules.

Modularization

Modularization is a technique to divide a software system into multiple discrete and

independent modules, which are expected to be capable of carrying out task(s) independently.
These modules may work as basic constructs for the entire software. Designers tend to design
modules such that they can be executed and/or compiled separately and independently.

Modular design unintentionally follows the rules of ‘divide and conquer’ problem-solving
strategy this is because there are many other benefits attached with the modular design of a
software.

Advantage of modularization:

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• Smaller components are easier to maintain

• Program can be divided based on functional aspects
• Desired level of abstraction can be brought in the program
• Components with high cohesion can be re-used again
• Concurrent execution can be made possible
• Desired from security aspect

Concurrency

Back in time, all software are meant to be executed sequentially. By sequential execution we
mean that the coded instruction will be executed one after another implying only one portion of
program being activated at any given time. Say, a software has multiple modules, then only one
of all the modules can be found active at any time of execution.

In software design, concurrency is implemented by splitting the software into multiple

independent units of execution, like modules and executing them in parallel. In other words,
concurrency provides capability to the software to execute more than one part of code in parallel
to each other.

It is necessary for the programmers and designers to recognize those modules, which can be
made parallel execution.

Example

The spell check feature in word processor is a module of software, which runs along side the
word processor itself.

Coupling and Cohesion

When a software program is modularized, its tasks are divided into several modules based on
some characteristics. As we know, modules are set of instructions put together in order to
achieve some tasks. They are though, considered as single entity but may refer to each other to
work together. There are measures by which the quality of a design of modules and their
interaction among them can be measured. These measures are called coupling and cohesion.

Cohesion

Cohesion is a measure that defines the degree of intra-dependability within elements of a

module. The greater the cohesion, the better is the program design.

There are seven types of cohesion, namely –

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• Co-incidental cohesion - It is unplanned and random cohesion, which might be the result
of breaking the program into smaller modules for the sake of modularization. Because it
is unplanned, it may serve confusion to the programmers and is generally not-accepted.
• Logical cohesion - When logically categorized elements are put together into a module, it
is called logical cohesion.
• Temporal Cohesion - When elements of module are organized such that they are
processed at a similar point in time, it is called temporal cohesion.
• Procedural cohesion - When elements of module are grouped together, which are
executed sequentially in order to perform a task, it is called procedural cohesion.
• Communicational cohesion - When elements of module are grouped together, which are
executed sequentially and work on same data (information), it is called communicational
cohesion.
• Sequential cohesion - When elements of module are grouped because the output of one
element serves as input to another and so on, it is called sequential cohesion.
• Functional cohesion - It is considered to be the highest degree of cohesion, and it is highly
expected. Elements of module in functional cohesion are grouped because they all
contribute to a single well-defined function. It can also be reused.

Coupling

Coupling is a measure that defines the level of inter-dependability among modules of a program.
It tells at what level the modules interfere and interact with each other. The lower the coupling,
the better the program.

There are five levels of coupling, namely -

• Content coupling - When a module can directly access or modify or refer to the content
of another module, it is called content level coupling.
• Common coupling- When multiple modules have read and write access to some global
data, it is called common or global coupling.
• Control coupling- Two modules are called control-coupled if one of them decides the
function of the other module or changes its flow of execution.
• Stamp coupling- When multiple modules share common data structure and work on
different part of it, it is called stamp coupling.
• Data coupling- Data coupling is when two modules interact with each other by means of
passing data (as parameter). If a module passes data structure as parameter, then the
receiving module should use all its components.

Ideally, no coupling is considered to be the best.

Design Verification

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The output of software design process is design documentation, pseudo codes, detailed logic
diagrams, process diagrams, and detailed description of all functional or non-functional
requirements.

The next phase, which is the implementation of software, depends on all outputs mentioned
above.

It is then becomes necessary to verify the output before proceeding to the next phase. The early
any mistake is detected, the better it is or it might not be detected until testing of the product. If
the outputs of design phase are in formal notation form, then their associated tools for
verification should be used otherwise a thorough design review can be used for verification and
validation.

By structured verification approach, reviewers can detect defects that might be caused by
overlooking some conditions. A good design review is important for good software design,
accuracy and quality.

So昀琀ware Design Strategies

Software design is a process to conceptualize the software requirements into software

implementation. Software design takes the user requirements as challenges and tries to find
optimum solution. While the software is being conceptualized, a plan is chalked out to find the
best possible design for implementing the intended solution.

There are multiple variants of software design. Let us study them briefly:

Structured Design

Function Oriented Design

In function-oriented design, the system is comprised of many smaller sub-systems known as

functions. These functions are capable of performing significant task in the system. The system
is considered as top view of all functions.

Function oriented design inherits some properties of structured design where divide and conquer
methodology is used.

This design mechanism divides the whole system into smaller functions, which provides means
of abstraction by concealing the information and their operation.. These functional modules can
share information among themselves by means of information passing and using information
available globally.

Another characteristic of functions is that when a program calls a function, the function changes
the state of the program, which sometimes is not acceptable by other modules. Function

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oriented design works well where the system state does not matter and program/functions work
on input rather than on a state.

Design Process

• The whole system is seen as how data flows in the system by means of data flow diagram.
• DFD depicts how functions changes data and state of entire system.
• The entire system is logically broken down into smaller units known as functions on the
basis of their operation in the system.
• Each function is then described at large.

Object Oriented Design

Object oriented design works around the entities and their characteristics instead of functions
involved in the software system. This design strategies focuses on entities and its
characteristics. The whole concept of software solution revolves around the engaged entities.

Let us see the important concepts of Object Oriented Design:

• Objects - All entities involved in the solution design are known as objects. For example,
person, banks, company and customers are treated as objects. Every entity has some
attributes associated to it and has some methods to perform on the attributes.
• Classes - A class is a generalized description of an object. An object is an instance of a
class. Class defines all the attributes, which an object can have and methods, which
defines the functionality of the object.
In the solution design, attributes are stored as variables and functionalities are defined
by means of methods or procedures.
• Encapsulation - In OOD, the attributes (data variables) and methods (operation on the
data) are bundled together is called encapsulation. Encapsulation not only bundles
important information of an object together, but also restricts access of the data and
methods from the outside world. This is called information hiding.
• Inheritance - OOD allows similar classes to stack up in hierarchical manner where the
lower or sub-classes can import, implement and re-use allowed variables and methods
from their immediate super classes. This property of OOD is known as inheritance. This
makes it easier to define specific class and to create generalized classes from specific
ones.
• Polymorphism - OOD languages provide a mechanism where methods performing similar
tasks but vary in arguments, can be assigned same name. This is called polymorphism,
which allows a single interface performing tasks for different types. Depending upon how
the function is invoked, respective portion of the code gets executed.

Design Process

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Software design process can be perceived as series of well-defined steps. Though it varies
according to design approach (function oriented or object oriented, yet It may have the
following steps involved:

• A solution design is created from requirement or previous used system and/or system
sequence diagram.
• Objects are identified and grouped into classes on behalf of similarity in attribute
characteristics.
• Class hierarchy and relation among them is defined.
• Application framework is defined.

Software Design Approaches

Here are two generic approaches for software designing:

Top Down Design

We know that a system is composed of more than one sub-systems and it contains a number of
components. Further, these sub-systems and components may have their on set of sub-system
and components and creates hierarchical structure in the system.

Top-down design takes the whole software system as one entity and then decomposes it to
achieve more than one sub-system or component based on some characteristics. Each sub-
system or component is then treated as a system and decomposed further. This process keeps
on running until the lowest level of system in the top-down hierarchy is achieved.

Top-down design starts with a generalized model of system and keeps on defining the more
specific part of it. When all components are composed the whole system comes into existence.

Top-down design is more suitable when the software solution needs to be designed from scratch
and specific details are unknown.

Bottom-up Design

The bottom up design model starts with most specific and basic components. It proceeds with
composing higher level of components by using basic or lower level components. It keeps
creating higher level components until the desired system is not evolved as one single
component. With each higher level, the amount of abstraction is increased.

Bottom-up strategy is more suitable when a system needs to be created from some existing
system, where the basic primitives can be used in the newer system.

Both, top-down and bottom-up approaches are not practical individually. Instead, a good
combination of both is used.

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So昀琀ware Metrics

A software metric is a measure of software characteristics which are measurable or countable.

Software metrics are valuable for many reasons, including measuring software performance,
planning work items, measuring productivity, and many other uses.

Within the software development process, many metrics are that are all connected. Software
metrics are similar to the four functions of management: Planning, Organization, Control, or
Improvement.

Classification of Software Metrics

Software metrics can be classified into two types as follows:

1. Product Metrics: These are the measures of various characteristics of the software product.
The two important software characteristics are:

1. Size and complexity of so昀琀ware.

2. Quality and reliability of so昀琀ware.

These metrics can be computed for different stages of SDLC.

3. Process Metrics: These are the measures of various characteristics of the software
development process. For example, the efficiency of fault detection. They are used to
measure the characteristics of methods, techniques, and tools that are used for developing
software.

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Types of Metrics

Internal metrics: Internal metrics are the metrics used for measuring properties that are viewed
to be of greater importance to a software developer. For example, Lines of Code (LOC) measure.

External metrics: External metrics are the metrics used for measuring properties that are viewed
to be of greater importance to the user, e.g., portability, reliability, functionality, usability, etc.

Hybrid metrics: Hybrid metrics are the metrics that combine product, process, and resource
metrics. For example, cost per FP where FP stands for Function Point Metric.

Project metrics: Project metrics are the metrics used by the project manager to check the
project's progress. Data from the past projects are used to collect various metrics, like time and
cost; these estimates are used as a base of new software. Note that as the project proceeds, the
project manager will check its progress from time-to-time and will compare the effort, cost, and
time with the original effort, cost and time. Also understand that these metrics are used to

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decrease the development costs, time efforts and risks. The project quality can also be improved.
As quality improves, the number of errors and time, as well as cost required, is also reduced.

Advantage of Software Metrics

Comparative study of various design methodology of software systems.

For analysis, comparison, and critical study of different programming language concerning their
characteristics.

In comparing and evaluating the capabilities and productivity of people involved in software
development.

In the preparation of software quality specifications.

In the verification of compliance of software systems requirements and specifications.

In making inference about the effort to be put in the design and development of the software
systems.

In getting an idea about the complexity of the code.

In taking decisions regarding further division of a complex module is to be done or not.

In guiding resource manager for their proper utilization.

In comparison and making design tradeoffs between software development and maintenance
cost.

In providing feedback to software managers about the progress and quality during various phases
of the software development life cycle.

In the allocation of testing resources for testing the code.

Disadvantage of Software Metrics

The application of software metrics is not always easy, and in some cases, it is difficult and costly.

The verification and justification of software metrics are based on historical/empirical data
whose validity is difficult to verify.

These are useful for managing software products but not for evaluating the performance of the
technical staff.

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The definition and derivation of Software metrics are usually based on assuming which are not
standardized and may depend upon tools available and working environment.

Most of the predictive models rely on estimates of certain variables which are often not known
precisely.

Size Oriented Metrics

LOC Metrics

It is one of the earliest and simpler metrics for calculating the size of the computer program. It is
generally used in calculating and comparing the productivity of programmers. These metrics are
derived by normalizing the quality and productivity measures by considering the size of the
product as a metric.

Following are the points regarding LOC measures:

1. In size-oriented metrics, LOC is considered to be the normaliza琀椀on value.

2. It is an older method that was developed when FORTRAN and COBOL programming were
very popular.
3. Produc琀椀vity is de昀椀ned as KLOC / EFFORT, where e昀昀ort is measured in person-months.
4. Size-oriented metrics depend on the programming language used.
5. As produc琀椀vity depends on KLOC, so assembly language code will have more produc琀椀vity.
6. LOC measure requires a level of detail which may not be prac琀椀cally achievable.
7. The more expressive is the programming language, the lower is the produc琀椀vity.
8. LOC method of measurement does not apply to projects that deal with visual (GUI-based)
programming. As already explained, Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) use forms basically.
LOC metric is not applicable here.
9. It requires that all organiza琀椀ons must use the same method for coun琀椀ng LOC. This is so
because some organiza琀椀ons use only executable statements, some useful comments, and
some do not. Thus, the standard needs to be established.
10. These metrics are not universally accepted.

Based on the LOC/KLOC count of software, many other metrics can be computed:

a. Errors/KLOC.

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b. $/ KLOC.
c. Defects/KLOC.
d. Pages of documenta琀椀on/KLOC.
e. Errors/PM.
f. Produc琀椀vity = KLOC/PM (e昀昀ort is measured in person-months).
g. $/ Page of documenta琀椀on.

Advantages of LOC

1. Simple to measure

Disadvantage of LOC

1. It is de昀椀ned on the code. For example, it cannot measure the size of the speci昀椀ca琀椀on.
2. It characterizes only one speci昀椀c view of size, namely length, it takes no account of
func琀椀onality or complexity
3. Bad so昀琀ware design may cause an excessive line of code
4. It is language dependent
5. Users cannot easily understand it

Halstead's So昀琀ware Metrics

According to Halstead's "A computer program is an implementation of an algorithm considered

to be a collection of tokens which can be classified as either operators or operand."

Token Count

In these metrics, a computer program is considered to be a collection of tokens, which may be

classified as either operators or operands. All software science metrics can be defined in terms
of these basic symbols. These symbols are called as a token.

The basic measures are

n1 = count of unique operators.

n2 = count of unique operands.
N1 = count of total occurrences of operators.
N2 = count of total occurrence of operands.

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In terms of the total tokens used, the size of the program can be expressed as N = N1 + N2.

Halstead metrics are:

Program Volume (V)

The unit of measurement of volume is the standard unit for size "bits." It is the actual size of a
program if a uniform binary encoding for the vocabulary is used.

V=N*log2n

Program Level (L)

The value of L ranges between zero and one, with L=1 representing a program written at the
highest possible level (i.e., with minimum size).

L=V*/V

Program Difficulty

The difficulty level or error-proneness (D) of the program is proportional to the number of the
unique operator in the program.

D= (n1/2) * (N2/n2)

Programming Effort (E)

The unit of measurement of E is elementary mental discriminations.

E=V/L=D*V

Estimated Program Length

According to Halstead, The first Hypothesis of software science is that the length of a well-
structured program is a function only of the number of unique operators and operands.

N=N1+N2

And estimated program length is denoted by N^

N^ = n1log2n1 + n2log2n2

The following alternate expressions have been published to estimate program length:

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o NJ = log2 (n1!) + log2 (n2!)

o NB = n1 * log2n2 + n2 * log2n1
o NC = n1 * sqrt(n1) + n2 * sqrt(n2)
o NS = (n * log2n) / 2

Potential Minimum Volume

The potential minimum volume V* is defined as the volume of the most short program in which
a problem can be coded.

V* = (2 + n2*) * log2 (2 + n2*)

Here, n2* is the count of unique input and output parameters

Size of Vocabulary (n)

The size of the vocabulary of a program, which consists of the number of unique tokens used to
build a program, is defined as:

n=n1+n2

where

n=vocabulary of a program
n1=number of unique operators
n2=number of unique operands

Language Level - Shows the algorithm implementation program language level. The same
algorithm demands additional effort if it is written in a low-level program language. For
example, it is easier to program in Pascal than in Assembler.

L' = V / D / D
lambda = L * V* = L2 * V

Language levels

Language Language level λ Variance σ

PL/1 1.53 0.92

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ALGOL 1.21 0.74

FORTRAN 1.14 0.81

CDC Assembly 0.88 0.42

PASCAL 2.54 -

APL 2.42 -

C 0.857 0.445

Counting rules for C language

1. Comments are not considered.

2. The iden琀椀昀椀er and func琀椀on declara琀椀ons are not considered
3. All the variables and constants are considered operands.
4. Global variables used in di昀昀erent modules of the same program are counted as mul琀椀ple
occurrences of the same variable.
5. Local variables with the same name in di昀昀erent func琀椀ons are counted as unique operands.
6. Func琀椀ons calls are considered as operators.
7. All looping statements e.g., do {...} while ( ), while ( ) {...}, for ( ) {...}, all control statements
e.g., if ( ) {...}, if ( ) {...} else {...}, etc. are considered as operators.
8. In control construct switch ( ) {case:...}, switch as well as all the case statements are
considered as operators.
9. The reserve words like return, default, con琀椀nue, break, sizeof, etc., are considered as
operators.
10. All the brackets, commas, and terminators are considered as operators.
11. GOTO is counted as an operator, and the label is counted as an operand.
12. The unary and binary occurrence of "+" and "-" are dealt with separately. Similarly "*"
(mul琀椀plica琀椀on operator) are dealt separately.

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13. In the array variables such as "array-name [index]" "array-name" and "index" are
considered as operands and [ ] is considered an operator.
14. In the structure variables such as "struct-name, member-name" or "struct-name ->
member-name," struct-name, member-name are considered as operands and '.', '->' are
taken as operators. Some names of member elements in di昀昀erent structure variables are
counted as unique operands.
15. All the hash direc琀椀ve is ignored.

Example: Consider the sorting program as shown in fig: List out the operators and operands and
also calculate the value of software science measure like n, N, V, E, λ ,etc.

Solution: The list of operators and operands is given in the table

Operators Occurrences Operands Occurrences

int 4 SORT 1

() 5 x 7

, 4 n 3

[] 7 i 8

if 2 j 7

< 2 save 3

; 11 im1 3

for 2 2 2

= 6 1 3

- 1 0 1

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<= 2 - -

++ 2 - -

return 2 - -

{} 3 - -

n1=14 N1=53 n2=10 N2=38

Here N1=53 and N2=38. The program length N=N1+N2=53+38=91

Vocabulary of the program n=n1+n2=14+10=24

Volume V= N * log2N=91 x log2 24=417 bits.

The estimate program length N of the program

= 14 log214+10 log2)10
= 14 * 3.81+10 * 3.32
= 53.34+33.2=86.45

Conceptually unique input and output parameters are represented by n2*.

n2*=3 {x: array holding the integer to be sorted. This is used as both input and output}

{N: the size of the array to be sorted}

The Potential Volume V*=5log25=11.6

Since L=V*/V

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We may use another formula

V^=V x L^= 417 x 0.038=15.67

E^=V/L^=D^ x V

Therefore, 10974 elementary mental discrimination is required to construct the program.

This is probably a reasonable time to produce the program, which is very simple.

Func琀椀onal Point (FP) Analysis

Allan J. Albrecht initially developed function Point Analysis in 1979 at IBM and it has been further
modified by the International Function Point Users Group (IFPUG). FPA is used to make estimate
of the software project, including its testing in terms of functionality or function size of the
software product. However, functional point analysis may be used for the test estimation of the
product. The functional size of the product is measured in terms of the function point, which is a
standard of measurement to measure the software application.

Objectives of FPA

The basic and primary purpose of the functional point analysis is to measure and provide the
software application functional size to the client, customer, and the stakeholder on their request.
Further, it is used to measure the software project development along with its maintenance,
consistently throughout the project irrespective of the tools and the technologies.

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Following are the points regarding FPs

1. FPs of an application is found out by counting the number and types of functions used in the
applications. Various functions used in an application can be put under five types, as shown in
Table:

Types of FP Attributes

Measurements Parameters Examples

1.Number of External Inputs(EI) Input screen and tables

2. Number of External Output (EO) Output screens and reports

3. Number of external inquiries (EQ) Prompts and interrupts.

4. Number of internal 昀椀les (ILF) Databases and directories

5. Number of external interfaces (EIF) Shared databases and shared rou琀椀nes.

All these parameters are then individually assessed for complexity.

The FPA functional units are shown in Fig:

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2. FP characterizes the complexity of the software system and hence can be used to depict the
project time and the manpower requirement.

3. The effort required to develop the project depends on what the software does.

4. FP is programming language independent.

5. FP method is used for data processing systems, business systems like information systems.

6. The five parameters mentioned above are also known as information domain characteristics.

7. All the parameters mentioned above are assigned some weights that have been experimentally
determined and are shown in Table

Weights of 5-FP Attributes

Measurement Parameter Low Average High

1. Number of external inputs (EI) 7 10 15

2. Number of external outputs (EO) 5 7 10

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3. Number of external inquiries (EQ) 3 4 6

4. Number of internal 昀椀les (ILF) 4 5 7

5. Number of external interfaces (EIF) 3 4 6

The functional complexities are multiplied with the corresponding weights against each function,
and the values are added up to determine the UFP (Unadjusted Function Point) of the subsystem.

Here that weighing factor will be simple, average, or complex for a measurement parameter type.

The Function Point (FP) is thus calculated with the following formula.

FP = Count-total * [0.65 + 0.01 * ∑(fi)]

= Count-total * CAF

where Count-total is obtained from the above Table.

CAF = [0.65 + 0.01 *∑(fi)]

and ∑(fi) is the sum of all 14 questionnaires and show the complexity adjustment value/ factor-
CAF (where i ranges from 1 to 14). Usually, a student is provided with the value of ∑(f i)

Also note that ∑(fi) ranges from 0 to 70, i.e.,

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0 <= ∑(fi) <=70

and CAF ranges from 0.65 to 1.35 because

a. When ∑(fi) = 0 then CAF = 0.65

b. When ∑(fi) = 70 then CAF = 0.65 + (0.01 * 70) = 0.65 + 0.7 = 1.35

Based on the FP measure of software many other metrics can be computed:

a. Errors/FP
b. $/FP.
c. Defects/FP
d. Pages of documenta琀椀on/FP
e. Errors/PM.
f. Produc琀椀vity = FP/PM (e昀昀ort is measured in person-months).
g. $/Page of Documenta琀椀on.

8. LOCs of an application can be estimated from FPs. That is, they are interconvertible. This
process is known as backfiring. For example, 1 FP is equal to about 100 lines of COBOL code.

9. FP metrics is used mostly for measuring the size of Management Information System (MIS)
software.

10. But the function points obtained above are unadjusted function points (UFPs). These (UFPs)
of a subsystem are further adjusted by considering some more General System Characteristics
(GSCs). It is a set of 14 GSCs that need to be considered. The procedure for adjusting UFPs is as
follows:

a. Degree of In昀氀uence (DI) for each of these 14 GSCs is assessed on a scale of 0 to 5. (b) If a
par琀椀cular GSC has no in昀氀uence, then its weight is taken as 0 and if it has a strong in昀氀uence then
its weight is 5.
b. The score of all 14 GSCs is totaled to determine Total Degree of In昀氀uence (TDI).
c. Then Value Adjustment Factor (VAF) is computed from TDI by using the formula: VAF =
(TDI * 0.01) + 0.65

Remember that the value of VAF lies within 0.65 to 1.35 because

a. When TDI = 0, VAF = 0.65

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b. When TDI = 70, VAF = 1.35

c. VAF is then mul琀椀plied with the UFP to get the 昀椀nal FP count: FP = VAF * UFP

Example: Compute the function point, productivity, documentation, cost per function for the
following data:

1. Number of user inputs = 24

2. Number of user outputs = 46
3. Number of inquiries = 8
4. Number of 昀椀les = 4
5. Number of external interfaces = 2
6. E昀昀ort = 36.9 p-m
7. Technical documents = 265 pages
8. User documents = 122 pages
9. Cost = $7744/ month

Various processing complexity factors are: 4, 1, 0, 3, 3, 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 4, 5.

Solution:

Measurement Parameter Count Weighing factor

1. Number of external inputs (EI) 24 * 4 = 96

2. Number of external outputs (EO) 46 * 4 = 184

3. Number of external inquiries (EQ) 8 * 6 = 48

4. Number of internal 昀椀les (ILF) 4 * 10 = 40

5. Number of external interfaces (EIF) Count-total → 2 * 5 = 10

378

So sum of all fi (i ← 1 to 14) = 4 + 1 + 0 + 3 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 5 = 43

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FP = Count-total * [0.65 + 0.01 *∑(fi)]

= 378 * [0.65 + 0.01 * 43]
= 378 * [0.65 + 0.43]
= 378 * 1.08 = 408

Total pages of documentation = technical document + user document

= 265 + 122 = 387pages

Documentation = Pages of documentation/FP

= 387/408 = 0.94

Differentiate between FP and LOC

FP LOC

1. FP is speci昀椀ca琀椀on based. 1. LOC is an analogy based.

2. FP is language independent. 2. LOC is language dependent.

3. FP is user-oriented. 3. LOC is design-oriented.

4. It is extendible to LOC. 4. It is conver琀椀ble to FP (back昀椀ring)

Cycloma琀椀c Complexity

Cyclomatic complexity is a software metric used to measure the complexity of a program.

Thomas J. McCabe developed this metric in 1976.McCabe interprets a computer program as a
set of a strongly connected directed graph. Nodes represent parts of the source code having no
branches and arcs represent possible control flow transfers during program execution. The
notion of program graph has been used for this measure, and it is used to measure and control
the number of paths through a program. The complexity of a computer program can be
correlated with the topological complexity of a graph.

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How to Calculate Cyclomatic Complexity?

McCabe proposed the cyclomatic number, V (G) of graph theory as an indicator of software
complexity. The cyclomatic number is equal to the number of linearly independent paths through
a program in its graphs representation. For a program control graph G, cyclomatic number, V (G),
is given as:

V (G) = E - N + 2 * P

E = The number of edges in graphs G

N = The number of nodes in graphs G

P = The number of connected components in graph G.

Example:

Properties of Cyclomatic complexity:

Following are the properties of Cyclomatic complexity:

1. V (G) is the maximum number of independent paths in the graph

2. V (G) >=1

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3. G will have one path if V (G) = 1

4. Minimize complexity to 10

A Control Flow Graph (CFG) :is the graphical representation of control flow or computation
during the execution of programs or applications. Control flow graphs are mostly used in static
analysis as well as compiler applications, as they can accurately represent the flow inside a
program unit. The control flow graph was originally developed by Frances E. Allen..
Characteristics of Control Flow Graph
1. The control flow graph is process-oriented.
2. The control flow graph shows all the paths that can be traversed during a program
execution.
3. A control flow graph is a directed graph.
4. Edges in CFG portray control flow paths and the nodes in CFG portray basic blocks.
There exist 2 designated blocks in the Control Flow Graph:
1. Entry Block: The entry block allows the control to enter into the control flow graph.
2. Exit Block: Control flow leaves through the exit block.
Hence, the control flow graph comprises all the building blocks involved in a flow diagram such
as the start node, end node and flows between the nodes.
General Control Flow Graphs
Control Flow Graph is represented differently for all statements and loops. Following images
describe it:
1. If-else

2. While

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3. do-while

4. for

Example
if A = 10 then
if B > C
A=B
else A = C
endif
endif
print A, B, C
Flowchart of above example will be:

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Control Flow Graph of above example will be:

Advantage of CFG
There are many advantages of a control flow graph.
1. It can easily encapsulate the information per each basic block.
2. It can easily locate inaccessible codes of a program and syntactic structures such as
loops are easy to find in a control flow graph.

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