Sequential coupling in code

Question

Hi,

Is sequential coupling really a bad thing in code?

Although it's an anti-pattern, the only risk I see is calling methods in the wrong order but documentation of an API/class library with this anti-pattern should take care of that. What other problems are there from code which is sequential? Also, this pattern could easily be fixed by using a facade it seems.

Thanks

Answer 1

It is an antipattern to just ignore a method call because something which shouldn't have been done before hasn't.

This should be controlled using design by contract. Failed preconditions typically raise a failed precondition exception, which is basically the software yelling at you if you use the class in the wrong way. They are superior to written documentation.

Answer 2

Even in Wiki article you mentioned there is an opinion that

This may be an anti-pattern, depending on context.

In many cases there is no other way. Eventually we use algorithms to solve tasks. And they are by definition

an effective methods for solving a problem using a finite sequence of instructions

Sometimes it's possible to hide this sequence. But not always.

Answer 3

its a minor anti pattern, as if the documentation is bad (or the api is confusing) you can get things into a bad states. Its like a recipe where it only tells you to put the yolks aside after you've already beaten the eggs together.