Lines Of Code - This is sometimes referred to as SLOC (Source Lines Of Code) despite the obvious confusion-causing redundancy added by that practice.

LOC (or SLOC) is literally: a count of the number of lines of code comprising a particular "set" of software. They are sometimes expressed with a decimal qualifier such as KLOC (thousands of lines of code). They will also sometimes include a set qualifier, such as SLOC/SM (SLOC per Staff-Month). Finally they are often used in conjunction with other measures such as defects, as in: the number of defects per 100 LOC.

LOC (SLOC) is, at best, simply a hype-magnet. While LOC has the sound and feel of a software metric buoyed by numerical precision, it is in reality, completely ambiguous and meaningless. If you see it being used to promote an analytical position, you can be relatively sure you are seeing a marketing promotion disguised as a scholarly study.

The problem? LOC (a.k.a. SLOC) may or may not count comments, blank lines, lines with just brackets, etc. It may also count a single statement as one line or many lines depending on how the statement is formated. For a complete detailed discussion of LOC (a.k.a. SLOC) and the problems of using it for serious analytical work, along with some helpful alternatives, see the article at Creativyst titled:

        The Return of the LOC Monster