Number of Direct Recursions

Number of instances of a function calling itself directly

Description

This metric specifies the number of direct recursions in your project.

A direct recursion is a recursion where a function calls itself in its own body. If indirect recursions do not occur, the number of direct recursions is equal to the number of recursive functions.

The recommended upper limit for this metric is 0. To avoid the possibility of exceeding available stack space, do not use recursions in your code. To detect use of recursions, check for violations of MISRA C:2012 Rule 17.2.

Examples

Direct Recursion

int getVal(void);
int sum(int val) {
    if(val<0)
        return 0;
    else
        return (val + sum(val-1));
}

void main() {
    int count = getVal(), total;
    assert(count > 0 && count <100);
    total = sum(count);
}

In this example, the number of direct recursions is 1.

Metric Information

Group: Project

Acronym: AP_CG_DIRECT_CYCLE

HIS Metric: Yes