Peter, >developers state of understanding. You say that you want to put >function foo in the module where the developer expects to find it; but >this will be determined by the context within which the developer is >working. Fundamentally, people are different: different developers will >design an identically-specified system in different ways, depending on >factors such as:
People are certainly different and the module that ought to contain the declaration of an externally visible identifier often does change as software evolves. What I am suggestion is that the traditional measures of coupling & cohesion are of secondary importance. With typical developer turnover of 25% a year and hundreds of external identifiers, learnability is the major issue. I think most managers would be willing to put up with howls of protests from experienced developers, that identifiers were declared in the 'wrong' module, if it meant that the developer could quickly learn where things were. When I visit a new town I want to be able to find my way around easily, not be confused by some other persons conception of what is 'logical'. >Incidentally, the paper that studied the classification of code by >novices and experts MAY have been one of: Thanks for the references. The problem with OO is that there does not seem to be agreement among the people claiming to be experts. Given that the field has only just turned 10 I don't think anybody is much out of class 101 yet. derek -- Derek M Jones tel: +44 (0) 1252 520 667 Knowledge Software Ltd mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Applications Standards Conformance Testing http://www.knosof.co.uk - Automatic footer for [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] unsubscribe discuss To join the announcements list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe announce To receive a help file, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] help This list is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/discuss%40ppig.org/ If you have any problems or questions, please mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
