Metrics for Object-Oriented Design - CK Metrics Suite Cont...

- Response For Class (RFC)
The RFC is defined as the total number of methods that can be executed in response to a message to a class. This count includes all the methods available in the whole class hierarchy. If a class is capable of producing a vast number of outcomes in response to a message, it makes testing more difficult for all the possible outcomes.

- Number of Children (NOC)
It is defined as the number of immediate subclasses.
* The greater the number of children, the greater the reuse, since inheritance is a form of reuse.
* The greater the number of children, the greater is the likelihood of improper abstraction of the parent class. If a class has a large number of children, it may be a case of misuse of sub-classing.
* The number of children gives an idea of the potential influence a class has on the design. If a class has a large number of children, it may require more testing of the methods in that class.

- Coupling between object classes (CBO)
It is defined as the count of the classes to which this class is coupled. Coupling is defined as : Two classes are coupled when methods declared in one class use methods or instance variables of the other class.
* Excessive coupling between object classes is detrimental to modular design and prevents reuse. The more independent a class is, the easier it is to reuse it in another application.
* In order to improve modularity and promote encapsulation, inter-object class couples should be kept to a minimum. The larger the number of couples, the higher the sensitivity to changes in other parts of the design, and therefore maintenance is more difficult.
* A measure of coupling is useful to determine how complex the testing of various parts of a design are likely to be. The higher the inter-object class coupling, the more rigorous the testing needs to be.

- Lack of Cohesion in Methods (LCOM)
It is defined as the number of different methods within a class that reference a given instance variable.
* Cohesiveness of methods within a class is desirable, since it promotes encapsulation.
* Lack of cohesion implies classes should probably be split into two or more subclasses.
* Any measure of disparateness of methods helps identify flaws in the design of classes.
* Low cohesion increases complexity, thereby increasing the likelihood of errors during the development process.