Modular Programming

Modular Programming (1/6) Modular programming  Goes hand-in-hand with stepwise refinement and incremental development  Makes the code easier to develop, test and debug  Promotes reusability of codes In general a problem is solved in 3 steps: input  computation  output. © CS1101 (AY Semester 1) Week6 - 2

Modular Programming (2/6) Write a separate module to perform the computation step. If the computation is complex, it should be further split into smaller steps and each step performed by a module. A ‘module’  Should be well-defined  Should do one task © CS1101 (AY Semester 1) Week6 - 3

Modular Programming (3/6) A well-defined module  Has a good name (for readability and documentation)  Has a clear interface (what parameters does it take?)  May pass back to its caller no result or a single result (what value does it return?)  Example: setColour(int c)  Example: getColour() © CS1101 (AY Semester 1) Week6 - 4 void setColour(int c) { int colour = c; } Takes in integer c. Does not return any value (void). int getColour() { return colour; } Takes in no parameter. Returns an integer

Modular Programming (4/6) Advantages of modular programming:  Easy to replace  E.g.: When you discover a better algorithm for isPrime(int), you just replace that method without affecting any other parts of the program or other programs.  Easy to reuse  E.g.: Suppose you want to write a program to count the number of prime numbers between two integers a and b.  Compare how you would need to modify © CS1101 (AY Semester 1) Week6 - 5

Modular Programming (5/6) Reusability of code  If isPrime(int) is a very commonly used method, we could even go a step further…  Ie. It is so short and sweet!  Any other application that requires the isPrime(int) method can use the method in a similar fashion. © CS1101 (AY Semester 1) Week6 - 6

7 Advantages of Modular Programming Extension of function modularity: Build, test, debug in isolation from other modules. Prevent access to private functions and data – prevent misuse. Hide difficult algorithms behind a set of interfaces. Hide non-portable code behind a portable interface. Can change internals without changing client code. Enable teams to work on same program. Each works on a different module. Modules are often reusable – libraries.