Title :
Validating Halstead´s theory for Pascal programs
Author :
Felician, Leonardo ; Zalateu, Graziella
Author_Institution :
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettronica, Elettrotecnica, e Inf., Trieste Univ., Italy
fDate :
12/1/1989 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
M.H. Halstead´s theory (1977) has been validated for different languages, but Pascal programs seem to fit only partially with the theory. D.B. Johnston and A.M. Lister (1981) first recognized the lack of operators due to the structure of this language and proposed a modification of Halstead´s formula. The article confirms their results but suggests a correction to their formula, which is particularly necessary for large programs. Experimental results, obtained by examining about 550 Pascal programs, represent the widest test to date of Halstead theory with regard to Pascal programs
Keywords :
Pascal; programming theory; Halstead theory; Pascal programs; large programs; operators; Data processing; Software algorithms; Testing;
Journal_Title :
Software Engineering, IEEE Transactions on