Synonyms
Low coupling; Weak coupling
Definition
Word coupling refers to a notion of interdependence between components of software systems. Word loose refers to a mode of coupling where components possess significant degree of autonomy.
Key Points
Term loose coupling consists of two opposite notions of dependency and autonomy. It initially emerged out of study of educational organizations. Organizational scientist Karl Weick noticed that some organizations can be mechanistic (coupled) and organic (loose) at the same time. Loosely coupled organizations are under influence of forces or conditions that hold them together, but at the same time they are acting with the high degree of independence.
In software engineering, loose coupling has similar notion to organizational theory. A loosely coupled system usually consists of a framework or architecture linking together otherwise independent components. The components are usually highly cohesive and have well defined responsibilities....
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Wieck KE. Educational organisations as loosely coupled systems. Adm Sci Q. 1976;21(1):1–19.
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Mankovski, S. (2018). Loose Coupling. In: Liu, L., Özsu, M.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Database Systems. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8265-9_1187
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8265-9_1187
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