Re: [AM] Requirements Encapsulation

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Peter Lynch wrote:
>=20
> "The basic idea of information-hiding is to identify things that have
> a high probability of change, and encapsulate those things to make
> the implementing code easier to change later.  If requirements (or
> data structures, or hardware) never changed, then there would be no
> need to encapsulate them."
>=20
>  I reckon this is at the essence of agile. Encapsulation has many
> advantages, but I have found that the view which produces the easiest to
> maintain systems is semantic clarity.
>  If the code "says" what it is doing, it is easier to understand. And eas=
ier
> to maintain.


Agree that clarity is also important, which is why I started=20
documenting my Fortran code with loads of descriptive=20
comments back in the '80s. Never regretted it.  Meaningful
variable names, method names and the like are also important.
Good maintainability is the result of many factors, not just=20
one technique like info-hiding or OO.

I would add that clear requirements and design specs are also
invaluable to a maintainer.  Of course, there is always the
problem of keeping these docs or specs up to date with the code.
Probably the best way to do this is a toolset that can auto-
generate these specs and docs from the code, or the code from
the specs.  So far, we aren't quite there yet.  I think this=20
is the "multiple view" idea of AM (but somebody correct me if
I'm wrong because I'm still learning about AM).

--=20
Rick Lutowski
Principal, JReality
[email protected]
http://www.jreality.com

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For more information about AM, visit the Agile Modeling Home Page at www.ag=
ilemodeling.com
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