OCLint

Size

HighCyclomaticComplexity

Since: 0.4

Cyclomatic complexity is determined by the number of linearly independent paths through a program’s source code. In other words, cyclomatic complexity of a method is measured by the number of decision points, like if, while, and for statements, plus one for the method entry.

The experiments McCabe, the author of cyclomatic complexity, conclude that methods in the 3 to 7 complexity range are quite well structured. He also suggest the cyclomatic complexity of 10 is a reasonable upper limit.

This rule is defined by the following class: oclint-rules/rules/size/CyclomaticComplexityRule.cpp

Example:

void example(int a, int b, int c) // 1
{
    if (a == b)                   // 2
    {
        if (b == c)               // 3
        {
        }
        else if (a == c)          // 3
        {
        }
        else
        {
        }
    }
    for (int i = 0; i < c; i++)   // 4
    {
    }
    switch(c)
    {
        case 1:                   // 5
            break;
        case 2:                   // 6
            break;
        default:                  // 7
            break;
    }
}

Thresholds:

CYCLOMATIC_COMPLEXITY
The cyclomatic complexity reporting threshold, default value is 10.

Suppress:

__attribute__((annotate("oclint:suppress[high cyclomatic complexity]")))

References:

McCabe (December 1976). “A Complexity Measure”. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering: 308–320

LongClass

Since: 0.6

Long class generally indicates that this class tries to do many things. Each class should do one thing and that one thing well.

This rule is defined by the following class: oclint-rules/rules/size/LongClassRule.cpp

Example:

class Foo
{
    void bar()
    {
        // 1001 lines of code
    }
}

Thresholds:

LONG_CLASS
The class size reporting threshold, default value is 1000.

LongLine

Since: 0.6

When the number of characters for one line of code is very high, it largely harms the readability. Break long lines of code into multiple lines.

This rule is defined by the following class: oclint-rules/rules/size/LongLineRule.cpp

Example:

void example()
{
    int a012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789;
}

Thresholds:

LONG_LINE
The long line reporting threshold, default value is 100.

LongMethod

Since: 0.4

Long method generally indicates that this method tries to do many things. Each method should do one thing and that one thing well.

This rule is defined by the following class: oclint-rules/rules/size/LongMethodRule.cpp

Example:

void example()
{
    cout << "hello world";
    cout << "hello world";
    // repeat 48 times
}

Thresholds:

LONG_METHOD
The long method reporting threshold, default value is 50.

HighNcssMethod

Since: 0.6

This rule counts number of lines for a method by counting Non Commenting Source Statements (NCSS). NCSS only takes actual statements into consideration, in other words, ignores empty statements, empty blocks, closing brackets or semicolons after closing brackets. Meanwhile, a statement that is broken into multiple lines contribute only one count.

This rule is defined by the following class: oclint-rules/rules/size/NcssMethodCountRule.cpp

Example:

void example()          // 1
{
    if (1)              // 2
    {
    }
    else                // 3
    {
    }
}

Thresholds:

NCSS_METHOD
The high NCSS method reporting threshold, default value is 30.

Suppress:

__attribute__((annotate("oclint:suppress[high ncss method]")))

DeepNestedBlock

Since: 0.6

This rule indicates blocks nested more deeply than the upper limit.

This rule is defined by the following class: oclint-rules/rules/size/NestedBlockDepthRule.cpp

Example:

if (1)
{               // 1
    {           // 2
        {       // 3
        }
    }
}

Thresholds:

NESTED_BLOCK_DEPTH
The depth of a block or compound statement reporting threshold, default value is 5.

HighNPathComplexity

Since: 0.4

NPath complexity is determined by the number of execution paths through that method. Compared to cyclomatic complexity, NPath complexity has two outstanding characteristics: first, it distinguishes between different kinds of control flow structures; second, it takes the various type of acyclic paths in a flow graph into consideration.

Based on studies done by the original author in AT&T Bell Lab, an NPath threshold value of 200 has been established for a method.

This rule is defined by the following class: oclint-rules/rules/size/NPathComplexityRule.cpp

Example:

void example()
{
    // complicated code that is hard to understand
}

Thresholds:

NPATH_COMPLEXITY
The NPath complexity reporting threshold, default value is 200.

Suppress:

__attribute__((annotate("oclint:suppress[high npath complexity]")))

References:

Brian A. Nejmeh (1988). “NPATH: a measure of execution path complexity and its applications”. Communications of the ACM 31 (2) p. 188-200

TooManyFields

Since: 0.7

A class with too many fields indicates it does too many things and lacks proper abstraction. It can be redesigned to have fewer fields.

This rule is defined by the following class: oclint-rules/rules/size/TooManyFieldsRule.cpp

Example:

class c
{
    int a, b;
    int c;
    // ...
    int l;
    int m, n;
    // ...
    int x, y, z;

    void m() {}
};

Thresholds:

TOO_MANY_FIELDS
The reporting threshold for too many fields, default value is 20.

TooManyMethods

Since: 0.7

A class with too many methods indicates it does too many things and is hard to read and understand. It usually contains complicated code, and should be refactored.

This rule is defined by the following class: oclint-rules/rules/size/TooManyMethodsRule.cpp

Example:

class c
{
    int a();
    int b();
    int c();
    // ...
    int l();
    int m();
    int n();
    // ...
    int x();
    int y();
    int z();
    int aa();
    int ab();
    int ac();
    int ad();
    int ae();
};

Thresholds:

TOO_MANY_METHODS
The reporting threshold for too many methods, default value is 30.

TooManyParameters

Since: 0.7

Methods with too many parameters are hard to understand and maintain, and are thirsty for refactorings, like Replace Parameter With method, Introduce Parameter Object, or Preserve Whole Object.

This rule is defined by the following class: oclint-rules/rules/size/TooManyParametersRule.cpp

Example:

void example(int a, int b, int c, int d, int e, int f,
    int g, int h, int i, int j, int k, int l)
{
}

Thresholds:

TOO_MANY_PARAMETERS
The reporting threshold for too many parameters, default value is 10.

References:

Fowler, Martin (1999). Refactoring: Improving the design of existing code. Addison Wesley.