Chapter 6. Tackling Large Projects

A Large System, Produced By Expanding The Dimensions of A Smaller System, Does Not Behave Like The Smaller System.

—John Gall

Large, multifile projects differ from smaller ones not only in the challenges you will encounter when examining their code but also in the opportunities they provide for understanding them. In this chapter we review some common techniques used in the implementation of large projects and then examine specific elements typically comprising the development process of such projects. We will describe how large projects are organized, their build and configuration process, how different file versions are controlled, the special role of project-specific tools, and typical testing strategies. ...

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