What is cyclomatic complexity and can you give me some examples?

What is cyclomatic complexity and can you give me some examples?

Cyclomatic complexity is a software metric used to measure the complexity of a program. It counts the number of linearly independent paths through the code. For example, a simple function with no branches has a cyclomatic complexity of 1, while a function with multiple if statements and loops will have a higher complexity.

Can you show me a code snippet with high cyclomatic complexity?

Sure! Here's an example in Python:

def example_function(x):
    if x > 10:
        if x < 20:
            return 'Between 10 and 20'
        else:
            return 'Greater than 20'
    elif x < 5:
        return 'Less than 5'
    else:
        return 'Between 5 and 10'

This function has multiple branches, increasing its cyclomatic complexity.

How can I reduce cyclomatic complexity in my code?

To reduce cyclomatic complexity, you can refactor your code by breaking down large functions into smaller, more manageable ones. Additionally, you can simplify conditional statements and use polymorphism or design patterns to handle complex logic.

What tools can I use to measure cyclomatic complexity?

There are several tools available to measure cyclomatic complexity, including:

• SonarQube
• CodeClimate
• ESLint (for JavaScript)
• Pylint (for Python) These tools can analyze your code and provide metrics on its complexity.