Microscopic coupling metrics for refactoring

Abstract

It is observed that most object oriented coupling metrics are macroscopic, which makes them unsuitable for making finer refactoring decisions. The notions of microscopic viewpoints and coupling projections are introduced. Existing metrics are classified in terms of viewpoints and projections. Two microscopic metrics called relative method coupling (RMC) and relative inward coupling (RIC) are introduced, and a method of applying them to refactoring is discussed. A case study is also included