MVC (model-view-controller) - can it be explained in simple terms?

Question

I need to explain to a not-very-technical manager the MVC (model-view-controller) concept and ran into trouble. The problem is that the explanation needs to be on a "your grandma will get it" level - e.g. even the fairly straightforward explanation offered on MVC Wiki page didn't work, at least with my commentary.

Does anyone have a reference to a good MVC explanation in simple terms?

It would ideally be done with non-techie metaphor examples (e.g. similar to "Decorator pattern is like glasses") - one reason I failed was that all MVC examples I could come up with were development related.

I once saw a list of pattern explanations but to the best of my memory MVC was not on it.

Thanks!

Answer 1

How about this - off the top of my head, hopefully it works for you.

MVC can be metaphorically related to a TV. You have various channels, with different information on them supplied by your cable provider (the model). The TV screen displays these channels to you (the view). You pressing the buttons on the remote controls affects what you see and how you see it (the controller).

I was watching TV, so I got some inspiration from there!

Answer 2

I don't trust metaphors. But it's not hard to explain it:

• the Model is the part of the code that knows things
• the View is the part of the code that shows the things the Model knows
• the Controller is the part of the code that gets commands from the user and tells the View what to show and the Model what to know.

Answer 3

Here is a quick blog post: MVC