Data Structured Software Maintenance proposes a long-term solution
to the problem of program maintenance, the largest single expense of data processing
departments today. Traditional maintenance procedures cause programs to become
unmaintainable over time because of the cumulative effect of changes to the system.
In
this book, David A. Higgins argues, don't just patch the program, redesign the
part that needs repair or enhancement. And use a structured method like the Warnier/Orr
approach to redesign and document the existing programs so that they are easier
to maintain over the long term.
The Warnier/Orr data structured methodology
addresses more than just the coding style or the control structures of a program,
and it can be applied even to programs that weren't developed with the method.
The ultimate goal of Data Structured Software Maintenance is to have a
good design for each program and to have the program closely match the design.
Other
topics include a definition of good, maintainable programs, logical and physical
design, repair and modification of traditional programs, maintenance of large
programs, and installation of the Warnier/Orr method into an organization. Numerous
examples and more than one hundred figures illustrate the text.
Reviews
"In one sense, this is the first adult guide to the life cycle
of software design. . . . Higgins' style is crisp and lively, and his examples
clear and down-to-earth. He is also one of those enviable people who is equally
clear on paper as in person."
—Nicholas
Zvegintzov from the foreword
"I enjoyed
Data Structured Software Maintenance and in my opinion it's a good book.
. . . Dave Higgins' solutions seem to be practical at the level of programming.
The book is COBOL-oriented but the readers using other languages can find analogous
solutions to solve their problems. The programming example is very good because
it is very simple. Some could say that it is too simple at the logical level,
but we must not forget that no one book can cover an entire topic even if it is
well defined. This book will be useful above all for programmers and I hope that
it will help them to obtain good results."
—Jean-Dominique
Warnier Author and Originator of the Data Structured
Approach to Software Design
"In Data Structured Software Maintenance,
Higgins offers a realistic assessment of the problem of software maintenance,
and he avoids a lot of seemingly easy answers. I recommend the book to anyone
who maintains software."
"Back in the 'Dark Ages'
(circa 1986), Dave Higgins wrote Data Structured Software Maintenance,
a book that addressed the high cost of maintenance, due in large part to the cumulative
effects of changes to systems over time. Although Higgins advocated a particular
program-design approach (the Warnier/Orr Approach), one of his primary themes
was to stop the degradation of systems over time by systematically redesigning
programs during maintenance activities.
"Although this older-style
'refactoring' was not widely practiced, the ideas are the same as they are today—the
need today is just greater. Two things enable, or drive, increased levels of refactoring:
one is better languages and tools, and the other is rapid change."
—James
A. Highsmith III e-Business Application Delivery
"Higgins
is one of the pioneers in the field of data structured program maintenance. He
has done a good job of explaining the basics of data structured program design
according to the Warnier/Orr methodology, and has given good tips and examples
for maintaining large programs."
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