2007-11-15 by tamberg
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Decomposing Systems Into ModulesIn his classic paper On the Criteria To Be Used in Decomposing Systems into Modules the software engineering pioneer David Parnas introduces modularization as
He identifies information hiding as the key criterion for a successful decomposition. Individual design desicions are confined to a single module each. The interface or definition of a module should reveal as little as possible about its inner workings, thereby minimizing dependencies and facilitating change. Since 1972 when the paper was published, a lot of fancy software development methodologies have been coming and going. Nevertheless, we are convinced that modularization as described by Parnas is still the most important engineering skill to learn and master in order to develop good software. |