An Axiomatic Theory of Software Complexity Measure

In software engineering, various ‘metrics’ have been introduced in an attempt to measure the complexity of programs. We show how the whole idea of a ‘software complexity measure’ can be axiomatized in such a way as to include the more familiar concrete examples and to allow for new measures that might offer advantages not captured by those previously introduced. In particular, a new testing measure is introduced, based on the ‘multiple-condition’ test strategy. Comparisons are made between this new measure and the more traditional metrics. In addition, a more general theoretical study is initiated, showing the effect of the axiomatic development in relation to the treatment of program structuredness.