CONVEXITY AND INDEPENDENCE IN SOFTWARE METRIC THEORY

Much work has been published in recent years relating to the field of hierarchical software metrics. These are the structural measures, defi ned recursively over the program or flowgraph decomposition into seque nces of prime flowgraphs, nested level-by-level. The theory of hierarc hical metrics is generalised and extended well beyond its original fra mework, introducing a notion of convexity that permits combinations of (generalised) hierarchical metrics to be studied, so that weights can be given to various software attributes of interest to the individual investigator; It is found that certain concepts, for example those of independence and rank, that have their roots in linear algebra are ap plicable here. Examples are described that show the range of applicati on of these fundamental notions.