August
1997 QUESTION 3 Total Marks: 20 Marks |
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| 3. | (a) Define what is meant by Information Hiding. | [2] |
| (b) In design history, modularity can be thought of as a method of managing complex program by sub-dividing them into distinct and manageable parts. In the study of design however, there is also an issue of cost. Explain, with the aid of an appropriate diagram, the conflicting nature of cost and modularity: why might it not be always a good idea to have a very high degree of modularity? In your answer, indicate what you feel is a possible solution to these two factors. | [5] | |
| (c) Cohesion and Coupling are two ways of measuring the degree of modularity. Define what is meant by both terms, and then indicate the degree desirable for each. | [3] | |
| (d) After the design step in a life-cycle usually comes the coding step. There are several factors that should be considered when choosing a suitable programming language for the coding step, one of which might be the algorithm and computational complexity of the program. Identify, and then describe in your own words, any five other such factors. | [1] |