CNumberOfStatements.qhelp

<!DOCTYPE qhelp PUBLIC
  "-//Semmle//qhelp//EN"
  "qhelp.dtd">
<qhelp>
<overview>
<p>
This metric measures the number of statements for each method.
</p>

<p>
Methods that consist of too many statements are hard to understand,
difficult to check and a common source of bugs (particularly towards
the end of the method, since few people ever read that far). They often
lack cohesion because they are trying to do too many things at once, and
should be refactored into multiple, smaller methods. As a rough guide,
methods should be able to fit on a single screen or side of A4. Anything
longer than that increases the risk of introducing new defects during routine code changes.
</p>

</overview>
<recommendation>

<p>
Over-long methods should be broken up into smaller ones by extracting
parts of their functionality out into auxiliary methods, using the
technique that Martin Fowler's <em>Refactoring</em> book calls 'Extract
Method' (see References).
</p>



</recommendation>
<references>


<li>
M. Fowler. <em>Refactoring</em> pp. 89-95. Addison-Wesley, 1999.
</li>


</references>
</qhelp>