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principles:model_principle [2021-09-02 12:34] – old revision restored (2021-05-19 11:19) 65.21.179.175principles:model_principle [2021-10-18 21:47] (current) – +++ restored +++ christian
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 ===== Description ===== ===== Description =====
  
-The software should model and mirror the "real world". This first of all means, that the structure of the software---to some extend---models the structure of the problem. When the "real world action" that the software should support comprises certain entities like e.g. customers, products, and orders, then there should be one object for each customer, product and order. Furthermore there should be one class for each concept. And if there is a certain relationship between customers, orders, and products, there should also be an association between the corresponding classes and references between the objects. So the object structure models the structure of the real world concepts.+The software should model and mirror the "real world". This first of all means, that the structure of the software---to some extent---models the structure of the problem. When the "real world action" that the software should support comprises certain entities like e.g. customers, products, and orders, then there should be one object for each customer, product and order. Furthermore there should be one class for each concept. And if there is a certain relationship between customers, orders, and products, there should also be an association between the corresponding classes and references between the objects. So the object structure models the structure of the real world concepts.
  
 Real world actions are then //mirrored// in the software system. This means that each action in the real world triggers a corresponding action in the model world which ensures that the model stays consistent with the real world. So the software is a kind of a simulation of what actually happens. If customer orders some product, the software reacts by creating an order object, which is connected to the customer and the product objects corresponding to the customer and the product involved in the real world action. Real world actions are then //mirrored// in the software system. This means that each action in the real world triggers a corresponding action in the model world which ensures that the model stays consistent with the real world. So the software is a kind of a simulation of what actually happens. If customer orders some product, the software reacts by creating an order object, which is connected to the customer and the product objects corresponding to the customer and the product involved in the real world action.
  
-FIXME more detailed description+Be precise with semantics. An operation ''cancelOrder()'' should get an ''Order'' or ''OrderId'' as a parameter. In some cases you might be inclined to supply a ''Product'' instead, maybe because you already have a variable with that object at hand. This might work totally fine in the concrete situation but in fact it only works "by accident". Similarly you might be inclined to invoke ''cancelOrder()'' in a situation when you want to delete the order from the repository. This might work as expected but actually ''cancelOrder'' is semantically slightly different from ''deleteOrder''. So even if ''cancelOrder'' currently does nothing but to call ''deleteOrder'' you should call the method on the correct abstraction level that has precisely the right semantics.
  
 +Keep sure that your software models the reality by invoking the method that has the correct semantics and supplying it with the parameters that are needed from a requirements perspective.
  
 ===== Rationale ===== ===== Rationale =====
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 When the structures in the software roughly correspond to the structures of the problem domain, a developer doesn't have to learn both of them. Knowing the problem domain is inevitably necessary. Any further structure of the software has to be learned and understood in addition. So creating a direct mapping between them, makes understanding the software easier, which improves maintainability. In such a system for most functionality there is a "natural", i.e. an intuitively clear place to implement it. This makes structuring the software easier and helps finding the implementation for a given functionality. When the structures in the software roughly correspond to the structures of the problem domain, a developer doesn't have to learn both of them. Knowing the problem domain is inevitably necessary. Any further structure of the software has to be learned and understood in addition. So creating a direct mapping between them, makes understanding the software easier, which improves maintainability. In such a system for most functionality there is a "natural", i.e. an intuitively clear place to implement it. This makes structuring the software easier and helps finding the implementation for a given functionality.
  
 +Moreover if something works accidentally, it breaks accidentally. Many many bugs are created because you are not precise with semantics.
  
 +In the example above supplying a ''Product'' to the ''cancelOrder'' method only works because by some circumstance it is made sure that  when ''cancelOrder'' is called, there is only one order for that particular product. It's a hidden precondition. As the software is changed, this hidden precondition may not be guaranteed anymore. This results in a non-obvious bug in a part of the system you haven't directly touched. Similarly in the ''deleteOrder'' example: The ''cancelOrder'' operation might get enhanced by creating a reverse invoice, a credit note, or a message to the customer. But an order might have to be deleted for purely technical reasons (migration to a new order system, etc.). So if you call ''cancelOrder'' instead of ''deleteOrder'' this will produce nasty bugs if ''cancelOrder'' gets enhanced as described. 
 ===== Strategies ===== ===== Strategies =====
  
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   * Create methods corresponding to real-world actions   * Create methods corresponding to real-world actions
   * Map additionally necessary behavior to natural classes instead of creating artificial classes   * Map additionally necessary behavior to natural classes instead of creating artificial classes
-  * For artificial behavior that cannot be mapped to a natural class at least create a metaphor or an artificial model (like for example a state machine) +  * For artificial behavior that cannot be mapped to a natural class at least create a metaphor or an artificial model (like a state machine) 
 +  * Be precise with semantics. If you have an operation that currently does what you need but for slightly different reasons because it's an operation on the wrong abstraction level, create a new operation with the correct semantics. Have that new operation call the existing one as an implementation detail (e.g. have a ''cancelOrder'' method call the ''deleteOrder'' method).
  
 ===== Caveats ===== ===== Caveats =====
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   * **[[Tell, don't Ask/Information Expert]] (TdA/IE)**: TdA/IE tells how to distribute functionality among the natural classes which are created according to the Model Principle.   * **[[Tell, don't Ask/Information Expert]] (TdA/IE)**: TdA/IE tells how to distribute functionality among the natural classes which are created according to the Model Principle.
   * [[Low Coupling]] (LC): When designing a model for a software, it has to be borne in mind that structures with low coupling are desirable.   * [[Low Coupling]] (LC): When designing a model for a software, it has to be borne in mind that structures with low coupling are desirable.
 +  * [[Law of Leaky Abstractions]] (LLA): When building abstractions according to MP, keep in mind that there will most likely be abstraction leaks. A good abstraction minimizes those leaks.
  
 ==== Principle Collections ==== ==== Principle Collections ====
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 On the other hand our intuitive model of parsers and functions tells us that a ''Function'' does not need a ''Parser'' to be a meaningful entity. One can easily think of ''Function''s created by using builder functions instead of a parser. And even if that wasn't true and there would only be the possibility to create functions by using parsers, a ''Function'' object logically can work without knowing that there are parsers which have created it. In an imaginary hierarchy of modules Parser would be a module on a higher scale than ''Function''. So MP forbids that ''Function'' depends on ''Parser''. On the other hand our intuitive model of parsers and functions tells us that a ''Function'' does not need a ''Parser'' to be a meaningful entity. One can easily think of ''Function''s created by using builder functions instead of a parser. And even if that wasn't true and there would only be the possibility to create functions by using parsers, a ''Function'' object logically can work without knowing that there are parsers which have created it. In an imaginary hierarchy of modules Parser would be a module on a higher scale than ''Function''. So MP forbids that ''Function'' depends on ''Parser''.
 +
 +
 +==== Example 4: Brake and Air Conditioning ====
 +
 +Suppose a car has an air conditioning and a hill start assistant. The air conditioning needs to make sure that the engine provides enough power on sunny days. So it measures its power-consumption and pushes down the gas pedal just enough to the engine isn't stalled. The hill start assistant automatically releases the hand brake if you start driving. Now the following situation can happen: A car waits in front of a boom barrier of an underground garage. It's a hot day and the driver opens the window to get the ticket. hot air flows into the car and the A/C powers up. The revolution speed is low because the car stands still so the A/C hits the gas pedal in order not to stall the engine. Now the hill start assistant realizes that the gas pedal was pressed and releases the hand brake because pressing the gas pedal is the trigger that the diver want to drive away. As a result the car crashes into the boom barrier.
 +
 +The problem here is with the A/C. Semantically it wanted to increase the motor power but actually it called an operation that hit the gas pedal. This is almost the same but not exactly the same. It's an operation on the wrong level of abstraction. If the A/C had called an operation ''increaseMotorPower'' instead of an operation ''hitGasPedal'' the problem would have been prevented. 
 +
 +
 +==== Example 5: Inferring Information ====
 +
 +Suppose there is a smartphone app and its backend. The app lets you buy several products. One day the app developers demand that the backend adds a field describing the product size (small, medium, large). The backend developers add the field and everyone is happy. The app developers use this field so they can decide whether gift wrapping is available (large products cannot be gift-wrapped). Half a year later the company decides to enhance their product portfolio by reselling products of company B. The backend will redirect orders of B-products directly to company B so they are in charge of delivery. 
 +
 +Unfortunately B is not able to provide gift-wrappings at all. So the smartphone app has to be changed such that it not only removes the gift-wrapping option for large products but also for B-products. But smartphone apps need to be updated by the customer (and some of them never do). So the only way to ensure that gift-wrapping is handled correctly even if the customer hasn't updated yet, is that the backend returns ''size:large'' for every B product (even for small ones). 
 +
 +The ''size'' field gets deprecated and a new field ''giftWrappingAvailable'' is added. In fact that's what they should have done in the first place. The app developers needed to know if gift wrapping is available. But instead they inferred this information based on the size. This worked but it worked accidentally---and it broke accidentally. 
  
  
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 /* Choose one of the following and comment out the rest: */ /* Choose one of the following and comment out the rest: */
 /*[[wiki:Stub]]*/ /*[[wiki:Stub]]*/
-[[wiki:Incomplete]] +/*[[wiki:Incomplete]]*
-/*[[wiki:Complete]]*/+[[wiki:Complete]]
  
  
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 Discuss this wiki article and the principle on the corresponding [[talk:principles:Model Principle|talk page]]. Discuss this wiki article and the principle on the corresponding [[talk:principles:Model Principle|talk page]].
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principles/model_principle.1630578872.txt.gz · Last modified: 2021-09-02 12:34 by 65.21.179.175