As well as being a good technique for writing programs for your own use, modular programming is also an excellent way of writing programs that can be used by other programmers. In this chapter, we will look at how to design and implement modules and packages that can be shared and reused in other programs. In particular, we will:
See how modules and packages can be used as a way of sharing the code that you write
See how writing a module for reuse differs from writing a module for use as part of just one program
Discover what makes a module suitable for reuse
Look at examples of successful reusable modules
Design a package to be reusable
Implement a reusable package
Let's start by taking a look at how you can use modules and packages to share your code with other people.