Software Structures: A Careful Look

In the half century since Edsger Dijkstra published "The Structure of the 'THE'-Multiprogramming System," it has become clear that the ability to design a software system's structure is at least as important as the ability to design efficient algorithms or write code in a pa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE software Vol. 35; no. 6; pp. 68 - 71
Main Author: Lorge Parnas, David
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Los Alamitos IEEE 01.11.2018
IEEE Computer Society
Subjects:
Codes
component
Edsger Dijkstra
gives-work-to
module
Multiprogramming
Operating systems
part-of
process
program
Programming languages
Reliable Code
Software
Software development
Software engineering
software structures
THE operating system
uses
ISSN:0740-7459, 1937-4194
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In the half century since Edsger Dijkstra published "The Structure of the 'THE'-Multiprogramming System," it has become clear that the ability to design a software system's structure is at least as important as the ability to design efficient algorithms or write code in a particular programming language. Although the word "structure" appeared in the paper's title and was used seven more times, Dijkstra never defined the term. Closer examination revealed that he was discussing at least three distinct structures. His failure to define "structure," or to clearly distinguish the structures that were important in his software, has led many to confuse those structures. This article aims to clarify what those structures are, their differences, and each one's importance.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
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ISSN:0740-7459
1937-4194
DOI:10.1109/MS.2018.4321239