[dorgo]

1) so you say there is a (positive) correlation, but it is not "fixed". Sorry, I don't understand what this means.

2) I know what you mean. I do it often myself and I know it improves code quality. It's not my intention to measure "work done" in LOCs, which, as you say, could be contradictory. I propose to measure the size of a project in LOCs. Suppose, you have two projects. And you have all the time you want to reduce their LOCs (to improve code). After you are done, both projects will still have some LOCs. My point is that the project, which has more LOCs, after you had your fun with it, is the "bigger"/more complicated project.

[tigershark]

1) Imagine some project written using CTRL+C, CTRL+V everywhere, another much bigger project written with some good architecture and using always the DRY principle, another one still bigger is written in a much more compact language like F# or Haskell. The first project following your criteria is the bigger and most complex, but in reality it is just a bloated mess. 2) It never works like that in reality. No one is paid to spend time only to improve the code, we are paid to provide value to the users. The project with the good architecture is easier to work with and it will be easier to add features and continue to improve the code. The bloated mess will be much more difficult to work with and you won't have the time to improve it apart from getting the low hanging fruits.