| Title: |
Do Not Reinvent The Wheel: Extending The Life Span Of Agricultural Models |
| Authors: |
Christopher Teh; Boon Sunga; Ian Hensonb; Mohd Haniff Harunb; Kah Jooc; Ahmad Husnia |
| Contributors: |
The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives |
| Source: |
http://christopherteh.com/wheel.pdf. |
| Collection: |
CiteSeerX |
| Subject Terms: |
design pattern; model; reusability; extendibility; object oriented; oil palm |
| Description: |
The objective of this paper was to discuss several guidelines in model design so that agriculture models are reusable and extendible. These two properties promote further development of a model; thus, increasing the model’s life span and its adaptability with changes. An oil palm growth model called SAWIT was used an example. SAWIT was designed specifically to be reusable and extendible by following three principles: 1) decouple the interactions among the model classes, 2) separate the model engine and user interface, and 3) design the model engine to be independent of any hardware and software. SAWIT comprises of several main classes, and these classes were designed to be as self-contained as possible to minimise any dependency or interaction with other classes. To further remove any interaction among classes, the Courier design pattern was used, whereby a mediator (microclimate class) formed a sort of communication centre to keep the other classes from referring to each other directly to obtain any external information. This design greatly reduced the intricate network of interaction among classes and promotes code reuse and extension. SAWIT also had two clear separate sections of code: 1) the model engine (the core of the model that deals with modelling and calculations), and 2) the user interface (a cosmetic, unimportant front for users to interact with the model engine such as data entry). This facilitated model sharing and allows for a situation where the model engine can be easily separated and studied, reused or extended by other modellers. |
| Document Type: |
text |
| File Description: |
application/pdf |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.497.3935; http://christopherteh.com/wheel.pdf |
| Availability: |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.497.3935; http://christopherteh.com/wheel.pdf |
| Rights: |
Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.E5B0A05A |
| Database: |
BASE |