Top-Down Design – Unitizing a Problem into Modules

Top-Down design in Programming:

Top-Down Design is a strategy that is developed with a focus on advanced analysis. Top-Down Design, also known as step-wise design, is a programming approach where programmers examine a program or system in its entirety and then meticulously analyze the every part of the program to acquire a better understanding of the compositional sub-systems that make up the program. Programmers then take these compositional sub-systems and analyze and refine them even more to reach the program’s fundamental elements. By taking this programming approach, which is the backbone of conventional procedural languages, programmers are able to effectively focus on a single module at a time, rather than the entire program at once. Programmers, essentially, transform the complex pieces of the program and then divide them into successively smaller pieces.

To write a program using the Top-Down Design, programmers utilize the method of writing a main procedure that identifies all of the key operations the procedure will need. The next step in this process is for the programmer or programmers to thoroughly examine the requirements of each operation and then replicate each of these steps. This process will ultimately lead to the grouped sub-routines executing the simplified procedures that can be simply and concisely coded. Once each of the different sub-routines is coded, the program will be ready for testing. Establishing how the program will collaborate at the high level, the lower level work can be independent. Identifying how the lower level concepts will assimilate into higher level concepts will clearly define the interfaces.

Top-Down Design outside Programming:

Even though Top-Down Design works great in the world of programming, the strategy is not confined to the world of programming. There are a variety of instances, outside of programming, where a person can apply Top-Down Design strategy. An example of where someone can apply Top-Down Design strategy would be in the preparation of a big dinner, such as Christmas dinner or Thanksgiving dinner. For many people, these dinners are very important their execution the execution of these dinners has to be perfect. In most cases, these dinners require a lot of food preparation. The person responsible for preparing the dinners usually has to prepare the main dish, a turkey or ham or sometimes both, and then a variety of side dishes, such as mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pies, stuffing, etc.

Utilizing the Top-Down Design strategy in this process can aid in its successful completion. The person responsible for preparing the dinner can implement the strategy by dividing the dinner into portions based on the time it takes to prepare the item. It would probably be best to identify and separate the items that take the longest to prepare. Once all the items have been grouped and sorted, the preparer will need to gather the ingredients and utensils required to prepare each item. Once everything is in order and all items necessary are where they should be, the preparer can start the actual meal preparation one group at a time.