Perl::Critic::Policy::Subroutines::ProhibitExcessComplexUser3Contributed Perl DocuPerl::Critic::Policy::Subroutines::ProhibitExcessComplexity(3pm)

NAME

       Perl::Critic::Policy::Subroutines::ProhibitExcessComplexity - Minimize complexity by factoring code into smaller subroutines.

AFFILIATION

       This Policy is part of the core Perl::Critic distribution.

DESCRIPTION

       All else being equal, complicated code is more error-prone and more expensive to maintain than simpler code.  The first step towards
       managing complexity is to establish formal complexity metrics.  One such metric is the McCabe score, which describes the number of possible
       paths through a subroutine.  This Policy approximates the McCabe score by summing the number of conditional statements and operators within
       a subroutine.  Research has shown that a McCabe score higher than 20 is a sign of high-risk, potentially untestable code.  See
       <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclomatic_complexity> for some discussion about the McCabe number and other complexity metrics.

       The usual prescription for reducing complexity is to refactor code into smaller subroutines.  Mark Dominus book "Higher Order Perl" also
       describes callbacks, recursion, memoization, iterators, and other techniques that help create simple and extensible Perl code.

CONFIGURATION

       The maximum acceptable McCabe can be set with the "max_mccabe" configuration item.  Any subroutine with a McCabe score higher than this
       number will generate a policy violation.  The default is 20.  An example section for a .perlcriticrc:

	 [Subroutines::ProhibitExcessComplexity]
	 max_mccabe = 30

NOTES

	 "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler."

							 -- Albert Einstein

       Complexity is subjective, but formal complexity metrics are still incredibly valuable.  Every problem has an inherent level of complexity,
       so it is not necessarily optimal to minimize the McCabe number.	So don't get offended if your code triggers this Policy.  Just consider if
       there might be a simpler way to get the job done.

AUTHOR

       Jeffrey Ryan Thalhammer <jeff@imaginative-software.com>

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (c) 2005-2011 Imaginative Software Systems.  All rights reserved.

       This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.  The full text of this license
       can be found in the LICENSE file included with this module.

perl v5.14.2							    2012-06-07	  Perl::Critic::Policy::Subroutines::ProhibitExcessComplexity(3pm)