Category: measurement
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Occurrence of binary operator overloading in C++
Operator overloading, like many programming language constructs, was first supported in the 1960s (Algol 68 also provided a means to specify a precedence for the operator). C++ is perhaps the most widely used language supporting operator overloading; but not redefining their precedence. I have always thought that operator overloading was more talked about than actually…
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When task time measurements are not reported by developers
Measurements of the time taken to complete a software development task usually rely on the values reported by the person doing the work. People often give round number answers to numeric questions. This rounding has the effect of shifting start/stop/duration times to 5/10/15/20/30/45/60 minute boundaries. To what extent do developers actually start/stop tasks on round…
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The units of measurement for software reliability
How do the people define software reliability? One answer can be found by analyzing defect report logs: one study found that 42.6% of fault reports were requests for an enhancement, changes to documentation, or a refactoring request; a study of NASA spaceflight software found that 63% of reports in the defect tracking system were change…