Software Metrics for the Efficient Execution of Mobile Services

This paper presents a suite of software code metrics, developed specifically for service-oriented systems with a well-defined methodology, which can be used as indicators of runtime efficiency. Existing literature on software metrics is mainly focused on centralized systems, while work in the area of distributed systems, particularly in service-oriented systems, is scarce. Firstly, a critical analysis of the problem domain identifies a number of software attributes which are likely to have an impact on efficiency. Secondly, concrete metrics are defined and evaluated (theoretically and empirically) for all identified attributes, with results showing that these software metrics are strongly correlated to typical efficiency metrics. Finally, a simple algorithm, which facilitates the runtime adaptation of service-oriented systems via service re-deployment, illustrates a practical application of the metrics.