separation of concerns
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
The earliest use in computer science is by Edsger W. Dijkstra in his 1974 paper "On the role of scientific thought". However, the term was used as early as 1924 in the field of legal economics by John R. Commons. (see quotes)
Noun[edit]
separation of concerns (uncountable)
- (programming) The process of separating a computer program into distinct features that overlap functionally as little as possible.
- 1974, Edsger W. Dijkstra, “On the role of scientific thought”, in Selected writings on Computing: A Personal Perspective[1]:
- It is what I sometimes have called "the separation of concerns", which, even if not perfectly possible, is yet the only available technique for effective ordering of one's thoughts, that I know of. This is what I mean by "focusing one's attention upon some aspect": it does not mean ignoring the other aspects, it is just doing justice to the fact that from this aspect's point of view, the other is irrelevant. It is being one- and multiple-track minded simultaneously.
- The analogous effort in any designing of processes to best delineate the concerns so as to clarify roles, avoid duplication, increase efficiency, and so on.
- 1924, John R. Commons, Legal Foundations of Capitalism[2]:
- What we discover regarding legal transactions guided by rules of law and backed by fear of violence under the jurisdiction of political government, will hold true, in substance, of business transactions guided by the common rules of business and backed by fear of poverty under the jurisdiction of business concerns, and of moral transactions guided by accepted codes of conduct and backed by fear of opinion under the jurisdiction of cultural concerns. As already stated, this separation of concerns is a matter of predominance and not isolation, for the fear of violence, poverty and opinion are interwoven.
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Translations[edit]
programming: separating a computer program into distinct features
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