Chapter 10

Communication between modules,

cohesion and coupling
Objectives
• To introduce communication between
modules
• To develop solution algorithms that pass
parameters between modules
• To introduce cohesion as a measure of
the internal strength of a module
• To introduce coupling as a measure of
the extent of information interchange
between modules
 10.1
Communication between modules
Communication between
modules
• Necessary to consider flow of
information between modules
• This flow of information is called
‘intermodule communication’ and can
be accomplished by the scope of the
variable
Communication between
modules
• Scope of a variable
– The portion of a program in which
that variable has been defined and to
which it can be referenced
– Variables can be global where the
scope of the variable is the whole
program
– Scope of the variable is simple the
module which it is defined
Communication between
modules
• Global data
– Date that can be used by all the
modules in a program
– Every module in the program can
access and change data
– Lifetime of a global variable spans the
execution of the whole program
Communication between
modules
• Local data
– Variable are defined within the
submodule are called local variables
– The scope of a local variable is simply
the module in which it is defined
– The lifetime of a local variable is
limited to the execution of the single
submodule in which it is defined
Communication between
modules
• Side effects
– Side effect is a form of a cross-
communication of a module with
other parts of a program,
– Occurs when a subordinate module
alters the value of a global variable
inside a module
Communication between
modules
• Passing parameters
– Parameters are simply data items
transferred from a calling module to
its subordinate module at the time of
calling
– To pass parameters between
modules, two things can happen:
• The calling module must name the
parameters that it wants to pass to the
submodule
• The submodule must be able to receive
those parameters and return them to the
calling module if required
Communication between
modules
• Formal and actual parameters
– Parameters names that appear when
a submodule is defined are known as
formal parameters
– Variables and expressions that are
passed to a submodule in a particular
call are called actual parameters
Communication between
modules
• Value and reference parameters
– Parameters may have one of three
function:
1. To pass information from a calling
module to a subordinate module
2. To pass information from a subordinate
module to its calling module
3. To fulfil a two-way communication role
Communication between
modules
• Value and reference parameters
– Value parameters
• Value parameters pass a copy of the
value of a parameter from one module to
another
– Reference parameters
• Reference parameter pass the memory
address of a parameter from one module
to another
Communication between
modules
• Hierarchy charts and
parameters
– Data parameters contain
actual variables or data
items that will be passed Data parameters
between modules
– Status parameters act as a
program flag and should
contain just one of two
values; true or false Status parameters
 10.3
Module cohesion
Module cohesion
• Cohesion is a measure of the internal
strength of a module
• It indicates how closely the elements or
the statements of a module are
associated with each other
• The more closely the elements of a
module are associated with each other,
the higher the cohesion of the module
Module cohesion
• Coincidental cohesion
– Occurs when elements are collected
into a module simply because they
happen to fall together
– Occur as a result of one of the
following conditions:
• Existing program may have been
arbitrarily segmented into small modules
• Existing program may have been
arbitrarily subdivided to conform to a
badly considered programming standard
• A number of existing modules have been
combined into one module
Module cohesion
• Logical cohesion
– Logical cohesion occurs when the
element of a module are grouped
together according to a certain class
of activity
– The element falls into some general
category because they all do the
same kind of thing
Module cohesion
• Temporal cohesion
– Occurs when the elements of a
module are grouped together because
they are related by time
– Typical examples are initialisation and
finalisation modules in which
elements are placed together because
they perform certain housekeeping
functions at the beginning or end of a
program
Module cohesion
• Procedural cohesion
– Occurs when the elements of a
module are related because they
operate according to a particular
procedure
– The elements are executed in a
particular sequence so that the
objectives of the program are
achieved
Module cohesion
• Communicational cohesion
– Occurs when the element of a module
are grouped together because they all
operate on the same (central) piece
of data
– Are commonly found in business
application because of the close
relationship of a business program to
the data it is processing
Module cohesion
• Sequential cohesion
– Occurs when a module contains
elements that depend on the
processing of previous elements
– Contain elements in which the output
data from one element serves as
input data to the next
 10.4
Module coupling
Module coupling
• Coupling is a measure of the extent of
information interchange between
modules
• Tight coupling implies large dependence
on the structure of one module by
another
• Loose coupling is the opposite of tight
coupling. Modules with loose coupling
are more independent and easier to
maintain
Module coupling
Global data
• Common coupling structure
– Occurs when modules
reference the same global Module A Module B
data structure
• External coupling
– Occurs when two or more
modules access the same Global data
global data variable (similar variable
to common coupling except
that the global data is an Module A Module B
elementary data item, rather
than a data structure)
Module coupling
• Control coupling
– Occurs when a module passes Module A
another module a control
variable that is intended to
control the other module’s logic Module B

• Stamp coupling
– Occurs when one module Module A
passes a non-global data Data structure
structure to another module in
Module B
the form of a parameter
Module coupling
• Data coupling
– Occurs when a
module passes a non- Module A
global data variable to Elementary data item
another module Module B
(similar to stamp
coupling except that
the non-global data
variable is an
elementary data item,
nota data structure)
Module coupling
• Summary of coupling levels
– If the programming language allows
it, try to uncouple each module from
its surroundings by
1. Passing data to a subordinate module in
the form of parameters, rather than
using global data
2. Writing each subordinate module as a
self-contained unit
Summary
• Introduced communication between
modules and parameters.
• Intermodule communication is the flow
of information or data between
modules.
• Passing of parameters was introduced
as a form of intermodule
communication.
Summary
• The differences between formal and
actual parameters and value and
reference parameters was explained.
• Module cohesion and module coupling
must be considered when designing
modular programs.
• Cohesion is a measure of the internal
strength of a module.
• Seven levels of cohesion were
discussed.
Summary
• Coupling is a measure of the extent of
information interchange between
modules.
• Five levels of coupling were discussed.