Modularity

Modularity is a term that can mean many different things depending on the subject that it is applied to. In relationship to design and technology, modularity refers to the idea that one system is made of many subsections or components.

When modularity refers to programming, it is providing a measure of the characteristic of a computer program to be made of many sub parts. A system that is made of independent sub parts is said to be more modular than a system that is made of sub parts dependent on each other (Modularity). The practice of implementing modularity is becoming increasingly common in large A.I. systems (Modularity).

Modular designs can refer to any system that is composed of many subparts that have an option of adding more subparts or taking out some optional parts. This provides flexibility in options, for example:

"Modularization is the norm, for example, in the global bicycle industry. You can configure your bicycle the way you want with the components from the different suppliers who are all making their components to fit in a standard architecture." (Sanchez).

Modularization gives the customer an option of customizing their product, another example is seen in computers, where on the MacIntosh site you can customize your own desktop and purchase it.

Resources:

"Modularity." PCMag. 11 Jan. 2008. 11 Jan. 2008 .

"Modularity (programming)." WIkipedia. 26 Dec. 2007. 11 Jan. 2008 .

Sanchez, Ron. "Modularity: upgrading to the next generation design architecture." Connected Magazine. 12 May 2000. 11 Jan. 2008 .