Chapter 12: Program Management in Java

---

12.1 Introduction

Too many designers believe that if they have laid out the basic framework and the objects that will be used in a program that the job of actually implementing the program is trivial; however, once a design for a program has been developed the job has only started. Actually, implementing any design, even a very good and complete design, as a program requires trade-offs when it is matched to very real physical constraints that might be present. These constraints often involve details that are not part of the problem being solved but are a result of a need to manage the complex interactions between files, objects, and variables that make up a program.

Management of a program is a separate issue from design of the program itself. This is important to remember, as aspects of managing the system are often added as part of the program design. Issues such as what packages an object should belong to or what classes should be final or inner classes, if addressed too early can severely hamper the ultimate implementation of the program. While these issues should be handled before implementation of the program begins, management of the program should be put off as long as possible so as not to limit how the program is designed. One important aspect of program management is that it is here that the power of a language becomes a help or a hindrance. It is also here that the use of external tools, such as integrated development environments (IDEs) and utility programs, become very important.

---