C/C++ Source Code Counter Program --------------------- Program Features

What This Program Counts

1. "Semicolon Counts": Many structured programming languages, such as C/C++, Java, Pascal, and Ada, terminate logical statements with a semicolon. It is fairly common practice in the software industry to parse a source code file for the number of semicolons encountered and to use it as the measure of program size.
   
   The retiSoft SLOC Counter program counts statement terminating semicolons to provide a logical statement count. The program specifically excludes from this count:
   
   
   • Semicolons found within either C or C++ style comments.
     
     
   • Semicolons used within programming constructs, such as in the C/C++ for iteration construct.

2. Counting Framework Elements: The retiSoft Source Line of Code (SLOC) Counter program supports user defined application of SEI SLOC counting framework. The types of code lines counted include:
   • Total Lines: The number of physical lines in the file being analyzed. This number corresponds to the traditional card image lines of code.
     
     
   • Completely Blank Lines: It is common (and desirable) to place blank lines before and after various sections of code or comments in a source code file to make them stand out and easier to find and read. Many company coding standards require the use of blank lines to create "white space" that enhances readability. Although these blank lines are a desirable part of the code file, they are seldom included in SLOC counts.
     
     
   • Compiler Directive Lines: C/C++ compilers support preprocessor directives that provide instructions to the compiler. These directives begin with the "pound sign" (i.e., "#"). Some of the most frequently used are: #include, #define, and #ifdef or #ifndef. Because such directives often require the same engineering effort as declaration and executable statements (e.g., using a #define directive to declare a constant or a macro in lieu of a function), they are typically included in SLOC counts.
     
     
   • C++ Comment Lines: Non-executing comment statements are an essential part of any program source code file. They are probably the most critical element in providing long-term support for a program; correcting latent defects or adding new features. Besides providing needed program identification and configuration management information, comments describe what sections of code are to do, why a particular approach was selected (or an "unusual" implementation was used), or how the code can be modified to change its characteristics. Although comments add significant value to the source file, they are often excluded in SLOC counts because they do not directly affect the program execution. One company I once worked for included comments at a 10% weighting in the SLOC count (i.e., every ten comments counts the same as one declaration or executable statement). This program includes physical lines that have only a C++ style comment on them in this count.
     
     
   • Declaration & Executable Lines: These are the program statements that are translated by the compiler into executable instructions or allocate memory storage for data and determine how the data can be accessed. Universally these lines are included in the SLOC counts.
   
   As mentioned above, comments are an essential element of good programming practices. In fact, a commonly used measure of software quality is the ratio of comments to the counted SLOC. Although I am not aware of any standards for this, I have observed ratios of 1:3 to 1:2 (i.e., one comment for every 2 to 3 SLOC) being accepted as representing a well commented program that promotes its maintainability. The C++ Comment Lines described above refer to only physical lines that contain only a C++ style comment (i.e., one that begins with "//"). In addition to this category, the retiSoft SLOC Counter program also provides counts for other types of comments.
   • Lines with C++ Comments too: In addition to lines that contain only a C++ comment (as described above), the programmer can append a C++ comment to the end of other source lines, such as declaration and executable lines. Although these physical lines are counted in other categories listed above, the presence of the comment needs to be considered when counting comments for other purposes.
     
     
   • Total C++ Comments: This is merely the sum of the count of C++ comments that are the only contents of a line and the count of C++ comments that are appended to the end of a line that was otherwise counted.
     
     
   • C-Style Comments: In addition to C++ sytle comments, most C++ compilers also support the older C-style comments (i.e., those beginning with "/*" and ending with "*/"). The retiSoft SLOC Counter program counts C-style comments in addition to C++ style comments. The program correctly handles C-style comments that span multiple physical lines as a single comment. It also processes nested C-style comments (i.e., one C-sytle comment within the scope of another) by counting only the outer-most of them.

The following illustrates the format used by the retiSoft SLOC Counter program to report the data described above.

        =======================================
        Source File:
          Path:     <path to subject file>
          Filename: <filename>
          These data collected on: <date>

         Semicolon Count:                 <count>
         Physical LOC (by category):      
          Total Lines:                    <count>
          Completely Blank Lines:         <count>
          Compiler Directive Lines:       <count>
          Lines with only C++ Comments:   <count>
          Declaration & Executable Lines: <count>
         Additional Comments Data:        
          Lines with C++ Comments too:    <count>
          Total C++ Comments:             <count>
          C-Style Comments:               <count>
        =======================================

The retiSoft Source Line of Code (SLOC) Counter program also provides an option to output the gathered data at one file per line to a comma-delimited text file that can be imported to a common spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel, for further analysis or charting. The included help file provides specific instructions for importing such a comma-delimited file into the provided Microsoft Excel "template" file.

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