>>>>>I would like to know the average cost per line of code for a softare company. I'm referring specifically to debugged, documented, optimized software deployed in a commercial product. Thanks!
>>>>
>>>>Wait! Take a step back. I'm not talking about trying to spec out a specific project. I need the kind of statistic that Dataquest or International Data Corp throws around. The kind of number you see on a business plan for an unborn software company when they are roughly trying to estimate what a 5-million line software project will cost them.
>>>>
>>>>So far, the estimates I have found are from $50 to $200 per line, with the "average" being $100.
>>>
>>>Boy! I would like to earn that "Average" per line of code! I would have made a "few" bucks today! :-)
>>
>>
>>at 4 lines/day, i'd be fired real quick...
>
>The difference between $200/line and what each of us is making is that DataQuest et al. are including costs other than the programmer's salary. For example, the computer costs. The President's salary (including his golden parachute). The sales & marketing staff's salaries and benefits. Rent/mortgage on the office building, Electric bills, Phone bills. Etc., etc. etc.
>

i was including those...

>Of course, if I spend 4 hours doing a complicated form, and add 4 lines of code to the INIT method, I may get close to the above amount :)
>
>Barbara Paltiel