The pros and cons of using metrics

In the two previous chapters of this book, you have learned about many tools and metrics that exist solely to help you write better software. The knowledge and wisdom and countless hours of endeavor on the part of hundreds if not thousands of software engineers can be added to your project in a matter of minutes.

The other side of the coin is that you might already feel completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of possibilities. Which tools should you choose? Which metrics should you focus on in the future?

If you have that feeling already, do not worry. We will not leave you alone in all this mess but help you find a setup that fits your needs during the next chapters. To begin with, let us take the time to look at the pros but also cons of using code quality metrics.

The pros

First, each software project is a unique piece of work. It grows based on certain circumstances, such as the skill sets of the developers and the available packages...