dts@quad.uucp (David T. Sandberg) (05/18/89)
In article <13765@lanl.gov> jlg@lanl.gov (Jim Giles) writes: >}>(Definitions - structured: code developed by stepwise refinement using >}>(ultimately) whatever low-level programming tools that are available. Question: your definition of structured programming actually sounds closer to modular programming to me. Please reference a source which defines structured programming in this fashion. >................................................. The description I gave >of the meanings of 'structured' is an accurate account of the change in >the use of the term. To be sure, the _new_ meaning of the term is almost >purely ideological. The definition of structure that I was taught was quite clearly defined and relatively devoid of ideology: "Structured programming: whereby each part of the program consists of elements from a limited set of structures and each structure has a single entry and exit." And this particular quote is from a manual on assembly language programming, to boot! ;') (BTW: I really do not wish to continue the flame war on GOTOs, since it's unlikely that it will get us anywhere. At this point, I'm only interested in clarifying the definition of structure. Hence the change in the Subject: line.) -- char *david_sandberg() { return ( dts@quad.uucp || uunet!rosevax!sialis!quad!dts ); }
jwb@LINDENTHAL.CAE.RI.CMU.EDU (John Baugh) (05/18/89)
In article <142@quad.uucp> dts@quad.uucp (David T. Sandberg) writes: >In article <13765@lanl.gov> jlg@lanl.gov (Jim Giles) writes: >>}>(Definitions - structured: code developed by stepwise refinement using >>}>(ultimately) whatever low-level programming tools that are available. > >Question: your definition of structured programming actually sounds >closer to modular programming to me. Please reference a source >which defines structured programming in this fashion. "This naturally suggests that programs should be developed by beginning at a high level of abstraction and repeatedly refining the level of detail. This approach, often call structured programming, top-down programming, or programming by stepwise refinement, ... "More precisely, we will say that a program is structured when it reveals a variety of levels of detail to the reader, and we will reserve the term top-down for the process of creating such a program by proceeding from the abstract to the concrete." From John Reynolds, _The_Craft_of_Programming_ John Baugh --