What is Design

• What is design?

  • Determine a solution to a problem.

  • Design is problem solving, not coding.

• How to design.

  • Explore the problem.

  • Consider possible solutions.

  • Expand a likely solution in detail.

What is Good Design?

• Can I understand this design.

  • Does this design solve the problem?

  • Is this design correct?

• Can I implement this design?

Design Tools

• A tool for describing algorithms.

  • Use whatever's comfortable to you.

  • Use pesudo-code.

  • English is tricky; don't describe code.

• Wishful thinking is a powerful design tool.

  • Call the magic subroutine.

• Design in steps.

  • Solve one piece of the problem at a time.

What Didn't Work

• Look for maximal runs in rows, assemble into a square.

• But, maximal row runs may not contain the largest square.

This page last modified on 23 July 2001.