A Software Science Model of Compile Time

  • Authors:

  • Wade H. Shaw, Jr.;James W. Howatt;Robert S. Maness;Dennis M. Miller

  • Affiliations:

  • Air Force Institute of Technology, Dayton, OH;Air Force Institute of Technology, Dayton, OH;Peterson AFB, Peterson, CO;Kirtland AFB, Kirtland, NM

  • Venue:
  • IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering
  • Year:
  • 1989

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Abstract

The Halstead theory of software science is used to describe the compilation process and generate a compiler performance index. A nonlinear model of compile time is estimated for four Ada compilers. A fundamental relation between compile time and program modularity is proposed. Issues considered include data collection procedures, the development of a counting strategy, the analysis of the complexity measures used, and the investigation of significant relationships between program characteristics and compile time. The results indicate that the model has a high predictive power and provides interesting insights into compiler performance phenomena. The research suggests that the discrimination rate of a compiler is a valuable performance index and is preferred to average compile-time statistics.