For a long time, I’ve thought that what I call the components-and-glue pattern is the ultimate recipe for effective reuse. In this pattern, relatively few systems programmers (who create kernels, libraries, and components in “hard” languages) support relatively many application developers (who use these kernels, libraries, and components from “soft” languages). I’ve also assumed that pattern would iterate one level up: relatively few application developers packaging idioms (“solutions”) for relatively many power users to customize and apply. The progression shown here could be interpreted as suggesting that reuse thrives best on the forest floor, not up in the canopy.
Jon Udell on reuse
