Re: Def. WinCE modules and components

[Jason Huntington <JasonH -at- CAPTURA -dot- COM>]

Rowena et al it may concern,

If I understand your question, you want a definition of a module or
component that you can use to identify modules or components in an
application developed for Windows CE.

Generally a module or component is a group of files developed by the
same team, tested together, or that share resources such as classes,
objects, or dynamically linked library (.DLL) files.  Modules or
components are usually installed nearby each other in a common location
such as a directory or folder structure.  A module or component also
usually contains and processes data that is said to flow through it.
When data flows between component boundaries, there is usually a bridge
object or a conversion filter involved.  Data flow boundaries indicate
component boundaries.

You can most easily identify components, modules, or libraries when a
system design is object-oriented.  When your system is not designed
before it is implemented, you might have to lead the work of abstracting
a design from watching the system at work.

*Questions to ask:

What are the actors in the system?
How does data flow through the system?
Does the system have a main engine?
Where does the system let go of data for export, transport, or
conversion?
Which pieces of the system code are written in what languages?
Is the system tiered such as between a server and clients?
Does the system have an Application Programming Interface (API)?  Is the
API open?  Is it extensible?
Does the system store data, store objects?

As you start to ask these questions, software developers, designers, and
architects will inundate you with information.

*Try to get a list of files from each development team, or from their
Quality Assurance (testing) or Configuration Management (installation)
branch.

This approach makes you quite independent of the platform, language, or
development environment used.

Hoping to help,


Jason R. Huntington
Senior Technical Writer
Captura Software, Inc.

        -----Original Message-----
        From:   Rowena Hart [SMTP:rhart -at- INTRINSYC -dot- COM]
        Sent:   Monday, May 04, 1998 4:31 PM
        To:     TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
        Subject:        Def. WinCE modules and components

        Hi everyone,

        I'm hoping someone out there is also working with the Windows CE
operating
        system and can answer my question:

        I'm trying to put together a definition of "module" and
"component", as they
        apply to building projects with the Windows CE Embedded Toolkit
(ETK).

        I've discussed this with our programmers, and they say that even
Microsoft
        hasn't defined what a module or component is yet, and it's
*their* OS !!!  I
        guess what I need is a layperson's working definition of these
terms that I
        can use until Microsoft publishes a definition.

        Thanks in advance for your help,

        Rowena

        ---------------------
        Rowena Hart
        Technical Writer
        Intrinsyc Software, Inc.
        http://www.intrinsyc.com


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