What is the proper terminology for a small (2-4) set of tightly coupled classes? These classes can't work independently.I was thinking system, but after googling for a bit, I've determined that the word is typically used to describe the software as a whole.Then, I thought of subsystem, but I don't know if the term applies if the number of classes in the subsystem is small.What do you guys think? This is for a presentation for a professor who wants me to provide definitions for everything. Edit:Essentially, I am describing various ways to architect game object systems, found in game engines. I'm using the term system as a way to include all the classes involved in the game object apparatus. Calling it a game object system feels right to me, but I'm not sure if it is the right terminology.I don't view game objects as a layer, since it doesn't really work as a layer in a game engine. A module or package, to me, seem more suitable for a bunch of purely functional or stateless classes.If I am not making sense, please let me know!
Proper terminology for a small set of tightly coupled classes?
architecture;terminology
I don't think there is a problem using subsystem because of small size alone. It is more a question of implementation/purpose: can the group of classes be considered a component on its own? Are they part of a bigger system? In that case it's a subsystem.Cluster can sometimes be used as a generic term. The problem is that it can easily be confused with the class cluster design pattern, and data clusters.