modular programming
modular programming A style of programming in which the complete program is decomposed into a set of components, termed modules, each of which is of manageable size, has a well-defined purpose, and has a well-defined interface for use by other modules. Since the only alternative – that of completely monolithic programs – is untenable, the point is not whether programs should be modular but rather what criteria should be employed for their decomposition into modules. This was raised by David Parnas, who proposed that one major criterion should be that of information hiding. Prior to this, decomposition had typically been performed on an ad-hoc basis, or sometimes on the basis of “stages” of the overall processing to be carried out by the program, and only minor benefits had been gained. More recently there has been great emphasis on decomposition based on the use of abstract data types and on the use of objects or object orientation; such a decomposition can remain consistent with the principles of information hiding.
More From encyclopedia.com
Computer Program , pro·gram / ˈprōˌgram; -grəm/ (Brit. pro·gramme) • n. 1. a planned series of future events, items, or performances: a weekly program of films the prog… Lisp , LISP
LISP, an acronym for LISt Processing, is a programming language developed by John McCarthy in the late 1950s. Although LISP is a general-purpose… Ada , Ada Trademark A programming language developed at the behest of the US Department of Defense for use in real-time systems containing embedded compute… Food Stamps , FOOD STAMP PROGRAM. The food stamp program originated in federal efforts to combat overproduction during the Great Depression by raising the consumpt… Object-oriented Programming , object-oriented programming (OOP) A programming technique that combines data abstraction, inheritance, and dynamic type binding. The central feature… Fp , FP A notation for functional programming proposed by J. W. Backus in 1978. Backus propounded a general functional style of programming, and developed…
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
modular programming