Re: Reserve Demobilization System Built Around Reused Ada Code

[pcg@aber.ac.uk (Piercarlo Grandi)]

On 11 Jun 91 06:27:03 GMT, jls@netcom.COM (Jim Showalter) said:

(somebody)> Should we call it reuse when the end user is different, and
(somebody)> otherwise call it enhancement?  Depends on what
(somebody)> techno-political games you want to play...

jls> My definition of reuse is quite simple: any time you didn't have to
jls> write a line of code, you reused it. This may not be the definition
jls> of reuse people envision when they use the term "reuse", but in the
jls> end all that truly matters is the COST--a line saved is a line
jls> earned.

But this does not capture what people "really" mean by reuse. Surely
then using a DBMS, OS, math library, is "reuse" then, by your
definition.

IMNHO "reuse" is so poorly defined, because everybody (but me of course)
does not understand sw development, that any discussion like "using X
means more reuse" is pointless.

For example the use of 4GLs, DBMSes, X windows, and math/GKS/stats/...
libraries to me it is all reuse. Reuse is much more prevalent than
people think, thanks to old fashioned concepts like servers (process
based reuse) and libraries (module based reuse).

Usually, I suspect, reuse is meant to be applied to the narrow case
where one does custom sw development, which is no longer the case in
most commercial installation; nearly everybody nowadays is using DBMSes
and enjoying the benefits of not reimplementing from scratch data
management programs.
--
Piercarlo Grandi                   | ARPA: pcg%uk.ac.aber@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk
Dept of CS, UCW Aberystwyth        | UUCP: ...!mcsun!ukc!aber-cs!pcg
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