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What was the first methodology used when you were taught programming?
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(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday May 24 2018, @02:57PM
Back in the 1970's . . . they covered both top down and bottom up approach.
As I got into Pascal, the emphasis was more about data structures than either top down or bottom up. The popular saying was: "Once you get the data structures designed right, the code almost writes itself." I largely found that statement to be true.
But one must remember the primitive state of computers. Less an 1 MB of memory. Often shared among several users.
Back then, what you would think of as a large design, is something I would think of as a drop in library in to a modern software project.
It is amazing how much more sophisticated software is today. It eats up all available memory and processor resources. But it does so much more. Compare, say, a modern e-mail client to one from the early 1990's. Html. Spell and grammar check interactively. Or compare development tools. Interactive compilation. Code and syntax awareness. Refactoring.
I would say today at a ten-thousand foot view, you do top down design. Really overall organization. But down in the weeds of the coding of individual parts, bottom up approach also has its merits. You often know what you will need at a higher level and can begin coding low level functions, and working your way up.
So maybe there is this "meet in the middle" approach where everything just comes together.
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