Data Structured Software Maintenance

Data Structured Software Maintenance proposes a long-term solution to the problem of program maintenance, the largest single expense of data processing departments today. Traditional maintenance procedures cause programs to become unmaintainable over time because of the cumulative effect of changes to the system.

In this book, David A. Higgins argues, don't just patch the program, redesign the part that needs repair or enhancement. And use a structured method like the Warnier/Orr approach to redesign and document the existing programs so that they are easier to maintain over the long term.

The Warnier/Orr data structured methodology addresses more than just the coding style or the control structures of a program, and it can be applied even to programs that weren't developed with the method. The ultimate goal of Data Structured Software Maintenance is to have a good design for each program and to have the program closely match the design.

Other topics include a definition of good, maintainable programs, logical and physical design, repair and modification of traditional programs, maintenance of large programs, and installation of the Warnier/Orr method into an organization. Numerous examples and more than one hundred figures illustrate the text.

"Dave Higgins' solutions seem to be practical at the level of programming." -- Jean-Dominique Warnier, author & originator of the data structured approach to software design

"Higgins' style is crisp and lively, and his examples clear and down-to-earth." -- Nicholas Zvegintzov, from the forward