Originally Posted By: canuckInOR
Originally Posted By: JeffS
-Developers will not check in methods with more that 5 (totally pulling that number out of my nether region- is there a good number here?) control statements (If statements- loop statements, etc.) unless excused by a TA

That last one feels terrible, but how else can I quantify "Write modular code"?

It is terrible. I suspect what you're trying to express is closer to minimizing nesting depth, rather than minimizing control statements. Having a number of control statements in a row isn't hard to follow, it's when the control statements are within control statements, within control statements.

But what Roger said... use cyclomatic complexity as your measure. I wouldn't suggest failing a build because the number is "too high", though, since you may have code that requires that complexity for some reason. It (along with all metrics) is more of a guideline, really, offering insight into areas of code that may be more prone to bugs, or are in need of refactoring.

That, and test coverage, are the two most useful metrics I've used.
Yes- nested control statements are what I meant. I looked at some tools this weekend for evaluating cyclomatic complexity and that seems a good way to go.
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-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.