Percent Lack Of Cohesion Modified

API ID: PercentLackOfCohesionModified
Languages: Basic, C#, Java, Pascal
Targets: Classes

100% minus the average cohesion for class data members, modified for accessor methods.

Same as Percent Lack Of Cohesion, except a method that only touches an instance variable indirectly — by calling one of the class's own accessor methods rather than referencing the variable directly — is still credited with touching it, instead of being treated as disconnected from the class's data.

For example:

namespace MetricsDemo
{
    public class CohesionDemo
    {
        private int a;
        private int b;

        public int GetA() { return a; }
        public void SetA(int val) { a = val; }

        public int GetB() { return b; }
        public void SetB(int val) { b = val; }

        public void Combine()
        {
            SetA(GetA() + GetB());
        }
    }
}

GetA()/SetA() and GetB()/SetB() each touch one instance variable directly. Combine() never references a or b directly — it only calls the accessors. The base Percent Lack Of Cohesion doesn't follow that call to credit Combine() with touching a/b, giving a lack-of-cohesion score of 60. PercentLackOfCohesionModified follows the calls and recognizes Combine() as using both variables (through the accessors it calls), raising the measured cohesion and giving a lower score of 40.

Targets By Language:

• Basic: Class, Struct
• C#: Class, Struct
• Java: Class, Interface
• Pascal: Class, Interface

Configuration:

• This metric can be disabled from "Project Configuration/Metrics/Object Orientated" with the "Show coupling and cohesion metrics" option.