A framework for defining coupling metrics.

Abstract Many metrics have been proposed to measure coupling—the degree of association between modules in a system. They have often been described in different ways, hindering comparison and research. Their definitions are often incomplete regarding language features in some languages, meaning that different tool developers may implement the same metric differently. This complicates comparing results from studies that use different tools. This paper therefore aims to define coupling metrics consistently and unambiguously. The paper describes a model of coupling that uses the reification of the concept of dependency as its fundamental unit. Based on this model, it defines a framework for defining coupling metrics. It shows how to define several well-known coupling metrics in the framework, and how defining different metrics based on the same model facilitates direct comparisons. It discusses how the framework resolves issues due to incomplete metric definitions, such as different language features. This formal framework is sufficiently simple that it can be implemented in such a way as to provide multiple metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]