On the criteria to be used in decomposing systems into modules (1972) [pdf]
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Re: On the criteria to be used in decomposing systems into modules (1972) [pdf]
#2> Conclusion
We have tried to demonstrate by these examples that it is almost always incorrect to begin the decomposition of a system into modules on the basis of a flowchart. We propose instead that one begins with a list of difficult design decisions or design decisions which are likely to change. Each module is then designed to hide such a decision from the others. Since, in most cases, design decisions transcend time of execution, modules will not correspond to steps in the processing. To achieve an efficient implementation we must abandon the assumption that a module is one or more subroutines, and instead allow subroutines and programs to be assembled collections of code from various modules.
Re: On the criteria to be used in decomposing systems into modules (1972) [pdf]
#3> Conclusion We have tried to demonstrate by these examples that it is almost always incorrect to begin the decomposition of a system into modules on the basis of a flowchart. We propose instead that one begins with a list of difficult design decisions or design decisions which are likely to change. Each module is then designed to hide such a decision from the others. Since, in most cases, design decisions transcend…
This is a great piece of advice and definitely applies to software development in 2022.
It probably even applies to system and organization design in general.
Re: On the criteria to be used in decomposing systems into modules (1972) [pdf]
#4Modern analysis of this classic David Parnas paper by Adrian Colyer (in The Morning Paper) here:
https://blog.acolyer.org/2016/09/05/on-the-criteria-to-be-us...
This is the paper known for introducing/elaborating concepts like "modularization" and "information hiding".
Re: On the criteria to be used in decomposing systems into modules (1972) [pdf]
#5I really thought there had been a previous submission with more comments, but maybe it was another Parnas paper. The only past submission with comments:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8849468 - Jan 7, 2015 (5 comments)
Re: On the criteria to be used in decomposing systems into modules (1972) [pdf]
#6Why are those PDF's so ugly? It would be so much more readable if it was just a regular web page.
(And sorry for the negativity since this is a fascinating article. But I'm genuinely curious why the this PDF is so ugly, since I'm sure the original published version looked significantly better, and the text seems to have been OCR'ed)
Re: On the criteria to be used in decomposing systems into modules (1972) [pdf]
#7Why are those PDF's so ugly? It would be so much more readable if it was just a regular web page. (And sorry for the negativity since this is a fascinating article. But I'm genuinely curious why the this PDF is so ugly, since I'm sure the original published version looked significantly better, and the text seems to have been OCR'ed)
Google can help you out: http://sunnyday.mit.edu/16.355/parnas-criteria.html (4th result for me)
Re: On the criteria to be used in decomposing systems into modules (1972) [pdf]
#8Why are those PDF's so ugly? It would be so much more readable if it was just a regular web page. (And sorry for the negativity since this is a fascinating article. But I'm genuinely curious why the this PDF is so ugly, since I'm sure the original published version looked significantly better, and the text seems to have been OCR'ed)
Have a look at the footer of a page of the PDF. It says „Communications of the ACM, Decembre 1972, Volume 15, Number 12“ there.
It is a scan of an old article from a journal.
Re: On the criteria to be used in decomposing systems into modules (1972) [pdf]
#9Why are those PDF's so ugly? It would be so much more readable if it was just a regular web page. (And sorry for the negativity since this is a fascinating article. But I'm genuinely curious why the this PDF is so ugly, since I'm sure the original published version looked significantly better, and the text seems to have been OCR'ed)
Have a look at the footer of a page of the PDF. It says „Communications of the ACM, Decembre 1972, Volume 15, Number 12“ there. It is a scan of an old article from a journal.
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Re: On the criteria to be used in decomposing systems into modules (1972) [pdf]
#10Why are those PDF's so ugly? It would be so much more readable if it was just a regular web page. (And sorry for the negativity since this is a fascinating article. But I'm genuinely curious why the this PDF is so ugly, since I'm sure the original published version looked significantly better, and the text seems to have been OCR'ed)
Google can help you out: http://sunnyday.mit.edu/16.355/parnas-criteria.html (4th result for me)
Thanks!