Making Sense of Architectural Coupling with Connascence
Connascence is a term coined by Meilir Page-Jones in his article “Comparing Techniques by
Means of Encapsulation and Connascence.” It is a software quality metric that attempts to measure coupling between entities in three dimensions: strength, locality, and degree. Rather than describing architectural coupling as simply loose or tight, connascence gives us a tool to describe and measure the huge diversity in coupling that we encounter in systems. Relatedly, it also gives us a tool for encouraging high cohesion within modules.
Connascence can also be divided into static and dynamic categories, with a long list of specific types such as connascence of name, meaning, timing and identity.
Page-Jones gives us a rule to follow, “Eliminate any unnecessary connascence and then minimize connascence across encapsulation boundaries by maximizing connascence within encapsulation boundaries,” which he says can be applied to “any future design paradigm with partitioning, encapsulation and visibility rules.”
In this session, we’ll examine connascence as it appears within architectural patterns such as REST, message-driven collaboration, and microservices, as well as within various serialization techniques. You’ll walk away with tools to help you better describe and manage coupling within your system architectures.
About Matt Stine
My passion is taking a metaphysical approach to software engineering: what is the nature of the collaborative game that we continuously play, and are there better, more contextually-aware ways to play that game?
By day I lead a team tasked with taking a first-principles-centric approach to intentionally enabling programming language usage at the largest bank in the United States.
By night I write and teach my way through a masterclass in software engineering and architecture targeting early-career software engineers working in large-scale enterprise technology organizations.
What is the primary goal?
To win the game. More seriously: to get 1% better every day at providing business value through software.
Who am I?
I'm a 22-year veteran of the enterprise software industry. I've played almost every role I can imagine:
- Software Engineer
- Software Architect
- Technical Lead
- Engineering Manager
- Consultant
- Product Manager
- Field CTO
- Developer Advocate
- Conference Speaker
- Author
- Technical Trainer
- Technical Marketer
- Site Reliability Engineer
- Desktop Support Specialist
I've worked at Fortune 500 companies, a tenacious teal cloud startup, and a not-for-profit children's hospital. I've written a book, and I've hosted a podcast. I've learned a lot along the way, including many things I wish I'd known when I first got started. And so now I want to pass those learnings on to you, especially if you've only just begun your career.
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