Cyclomatic Complexity (CC) is a software metric (mostly code based metric) used to the number of independent path executions in the application. Introduced by Thomas McCabe in 1976, it measures the number of linearly-independent paths through a program module.
It helps the developers to determine the independent path executions and base line unit tests that they need to validate. Using this, the developers can assure that all the paths have been tested atleast once. It's a great comfort for the developer and their respective managers.
It's better to write JUnit Tests for all these linearly-independent paths and integrate it with any code coverage tool. These reports help to focus more on the un covered paths and improve the code coverage.
It also helps to evaluate the risk associated with the application. The following are the results published by SEI and they are being followed widely to determine the health of the code base.
Cyclomatic Complexity Risk Evaluation
1-10 A simple program, without much risk
11-20 More complex, moderate risk
21-50 Complex, high risk program
Greater than 50 Un testable program (very high risk)
Explore more at Cyclomatic Complexity in Software Technology Roadmap from SEI.
Further Reading on the topic
- Cyclomatic Complexity from Wikipedia
- McCabe Metrics
- Code Improvement Through Cyclomatic Complexity
- Cyclomatic Complexity from High Integrity Software Systems Assurance
- Project Metrics Help – Cyclomatic Metrics
Use metrics to evaluate the risk early in the cycle & improve your test coverage.
Happy Testting …
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