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49 lines
1.4 KiB
XML
49 lines
1.4 KiB
XML
<!DOCTYPE qhelp PUBLIC
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"-//Semmle//qhelp//EN"
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"qhelp.dtd">
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<qhelp>
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<overview>
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<p>
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This metric measures the number of different authors (by examining the
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version control history)
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for files below this location in the tree. (This is a better version
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of the metric that counts the number of different authors using Javadoc
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tags.)
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</p>
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<p>
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Files that have been changed by a large number of different authors are
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by definition the product of many minds. New authors working on a file
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may be less familiar with the design and implementation of the code than
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the original authors, which can be a potential source of bugs. Furthermore,
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code that has been worked on by many people, if not carefully maintained,
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often ends up lacking conceptual integrity. For both of these reasons, any
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code that has been worked on by an unusually high number of different people
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merits careful inspection in code reviews.
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</p>
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</overview>
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<recommendation>
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<p>
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There is clearly no way to reduce the number of authors that have worked
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on a file - it is impossible to rewrite history. However, files highlighted
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by this metric should be given special attention in a code review, and may
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ultimately be good candidates for refactoring/rewriting by an individual,
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experienced developer.
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</p>
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</recommendation>
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<references>
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<li>
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F. P. Brooks Jr. <em>The Mythical Man-Month</em>, Chapter 4. Addison-Wesley, 1974.
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</li>
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</references>
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</qhelp>
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