Fan-out is defined as which of the following?

Fan-out is defined as which of the following?

• A. Outgoing dependencies: inside the component depending on external classes
• B. Incoming dependencies: outside to inside
• C. Number of files in module
• D. Deep inheritance depth

Answer: (A)

Fan-out is about how many other components a given component relies on to do its job. It measures outgoing dependencies—from this component to external classes or modules. If a class creates or uses many other objects or calls into several external modules, its fan-out is high. This matters because higher fan-out often means tighter coupling and more parts that can be affected by changes, making maintenance and testing harder. The option that describes outgoing dependencies fits this idea. The notion of incoming dependencies would be fan-in, not fan-out. The item about the number of files in a module is about size or scope, and deep inheritance depth relates to inheritance structure, not how many dependencies the component has.

Fan-out is about how many other components a given component relies on to do its job. It measures outgoing dependencies—from this component to external classes or modules. If a class creates or uses many other objects or calls into several external modules, its fan-out is high. This matters because higher fan-out often means tighter coupling and more parts that can be affected by changes, making maintenance and testing harder. The option that describes outgoing dependencies fits this idea. The notion of incoming dependencies would be fan-in, not fan-out. The item about the number of files in a module is about size or scope, and deep inheritance depth relates to inheritance structure, not how many dependencies the component has.