Evaluating Depth of Inheritance on theMaintainability of Object - Oriented

This empirical research was undertaken as part of a multi-method programme of research to investigate unsupported claims made of object-oriented technology. A series of subject-based laboratory experiments, including an internal replication, tested the eeect of inheritance depth on the maintainability of object-oriented software. Subjects were timed performing identical maintenance tasks on object-oriented software with a hierarchy of three levels of inheritance depth and equivalent object-based software with no inheritance. This was then replicated with more experienced subjects. In a second experiment of similar design, subjects were timed performing identical maintenance tasks on object-oriented software with a hierarchy of ve levels of inheritance depth and the equivalent object-based software. The collected data showed that subjects maintaining object-oriented software with three levels of inheritance depth performed the maintenance tasks signiicantly quicker than those maintaining equivalent object-based software with no inheritance. In contrast, subjects maintaining the object-oriented software with ve levels of inheritance depth took longer, on average, than the subjects maintaining the equivalent object-based software (although statistical signiicance was not obtained). Subjects' source code solutions and debrieeng questionnaires provided some evidence suggesting subjects began to experience diiculties with the deeper inheritance hierarchy It is not at all obvious that object-oriented software is going to be more maintainable in the long run. These ndings are suuciently important that attempts to verify the results should be made by independent researchers.