MEASUREMENT METRICS FOR HYBRID ASPECT ORIENTED/OBJECT-ORIENTED SOFTWARE SYSTEMS

This dissertation proposes a new framework for the measurement of software product quality for hybrid systems. Hybrid system measurement is developed using a combination of Object Oriented Programming (OOP) and Aspect Oriented Programming (AOP) techniques. To make the required range of measurements for such hybrid systems, new metrics for AOP quality measurement will be proposed. These metrics will be collected from a range of open source projects using specific tools, and will be evaluated to prove their value. These metrics will then form part of a new software quality framework, used to evaluate the overall quality of the selected projects. This new framework is based upon the existing and widely adopted ISO 9126 quality model.

The outcomes of this thesis will contribute to hybrid systems’ quality measurement. The theoretical contribution of existing software quality frameworks will be evaluated, and existing OO and AO metrics will be discussed. The new metrics will then be identified, and an expanded quality framework will be presented. I will then conduct intensive statistical analyses to evaluate the proposals.

The methodology of this thesis will be an experimental method to identify and evaluate AO metrics, combined with a statistical analysis to prove their efficacy.

The major contribution of the work will be to help developers and designers to improve their hybrid application systems in several ways, including quality, maintainability, efficiency, and complexity.