: A Program Structure that Allows for Easier Maintenance

VocExile/Programming Topics/Computer Program Structure

A Computer Program Structure that Allows for Easier Maintenance

by Ed Perley

Consider how the operation of a complex industrial machine differs from that of a computer program. First of all, the machine has one or more control panels that give an up to the minute picture of what the machine is doing. If something goes wrong, a trained technician can spot the problem. Usually he can fix it by changing settings on the control panel. Or, if a component fails, he can either plug in a new one or switch to another one. Since all of the sockets have specific shapes, there is no danger of plugging a component in the wrong socket. Usually, all corrections can be made without turning the machine off or by spending hours examining diagrams of the machine's components.

It occured to me that it should be possible to design computer programs that have the above mentioned features. Some of my ideas are discussed below. There are three distinct parts to this system of programming, which are described below.

  1. Use of temporary global variables * to pass values to and from functions.
  2. Use of a function control panel to monitor and control all function calls.
  3. Use of a logic control panel to monitor and control program logic.

Using Temporary Global Variables to pass values to Modules

Temporary global variables are used to pass information to and from program functions or modules. They consist of global arrays of variables, one for each data type that the program will need to use. In languages that use pointers, there can also be an array of pointers. The names of these variables would be standard, ie. all programs with this type of design would use these same variables.

If properly implemented, this system could minimize errors resulting from mismatched varible types and confusion about whether variables need to be local or global. These properties also will make it easier to use a module in other programs with no modification.

    The rules for a given program function or module are given below.
  1. As much as is possible, all variables within a module will be local.
  2. Variables needed by a module are placed in the appropriate temproary global variables, as specified by documentation, before the module is called.
  3. Before it does anything else, the module will copy these values to local variables within the module, and zero out the global variables.
  4. If a type mismatch is detected, or the information read in is invalid, the module will return an error code and exit.
  5. After performing its assigned task, the module will copy its output to global variables. One variable will receive a status code that will indicate if the module operated correctly. It will also indicate if any output is outside the range of outputs expected.
  6. The module will contain text that specifies which global variables it will read and which ones will receive its output. These will be displayed by the the control panel, which is described below.
  7. The code that calls the module will copy the information to it's local variables, and zero out the temporary global variables, making them ready for reuse.

The Control Module and Control Panel

The control module and control panel control all calls to functions and modules in a program.

Every module and function in the program is assigned a number. No program module is called directly. Instead, the appropriate number is placed in a temporary integer variable, and the control module is called. All calls for functions and program modules are made through the control module. This system could conceivably be extended to call separate programs if there is a means to pass variables to them.

The Control Panel is a screen display of all of the modules that are called in the program. It can be used to turn a module off or on, or to substitute a different module to do the required task. And this can be done while the program is running. It will also display basic documentation for each module, saying what is it's purpose, what modules it calls, and what global variables it needs to read and write to. It will also display a status code for each module.

On the Programming Menu (Link is shown below) is a link to my report on the design of a Surface View program, using a program structure similar to this one.

The Logic module and Logic Control Panel

The logic module will control any program logic that may need to be modified when the program needs to debugged or upgraded. Like the control module above, it will have its own control panel. It will use a system something like my discussion on logic tables (Use the link to the Programming Menu below.)

There will be future discussion on this design in the future. I have been advised that there are some problems with this plan that should be addressed.

* I changed the term standard global variables to temporary global variables. I like it better.

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Date last updated: Nov 1, 1998