SMRTR ProgrammingJun 14, 2025Lobsters

A meta-analysis of three different notions of software complexity

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Software complexity is explored through three different perspectives: Hickey's objective view, Ousterhout's focus on understandability, and Tellman's explanation-based approach. Each offers unique insights on simplicity, dependencies, and coupling. Tellman's definition of complexity as the sum of future explanations provides a flexible framework for evaluating design decisions and team dynamics.

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