Concept and Authorship by Eric C. Mumford, Lifelong engineer and tinkerer
https://github.com/heymumford https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-mumford/
A blend of "Sam" – together, unified + "Straumr" – Old Norse for "stream" or "flow"
Samstraumr is a design framework that introduces Tube-Based Development (TBD)—a methodology where interconnected tubes process inputs and outputs, forming adaptive systems. Inspired by natural flows, each tube serves a unique purpose, operating at various levels of abstraction, and can be combined to rapidly create complex, maintainable solutions.
After decades of navigating thousands of lines of choppy legacy code and writing test scripts and automation platforms to maintain and upgrade such products, I often thought, there must be a better way. Samstraumr is my attempt at that better way. In traditional development, timelines and milestones often force engineers to prioritize speed of implementation over design elegance, reliability, and documentation, leading to complex, hard-to-maintain code.
Samstraumr and TBD offer a practical framework to build maintainable code faster by:
- Promoting Modularity: Breaking down systems into independent, reusable components.
- Enhancing Maintainability: Simplifying updates and reducing technical debt.
- Encouraging Adaptability: Allowing systems to evolve with changing requirements.
- Facilitating Collaboration: Enabling components to interact seamlessly.
Samstraumr captures the essence of natural flows—systems that adapt and evolve without unnecessary complexity. It's about creating code that is as efficient and graceful as nature itself, enabling developers to focus on innovation rather than wrestling with tangled codebases.
Functional and Object-Oriented programming are foundational tools rooted in science, process, and rigor. They have revolutionized software development, much like the invention of the airplane transformed transportation.
Just as airplanes led to helicopters and then drones—each utilizing flight principles differently for new applications—Samstraumr evolves from OOP and FP to emphasize adaptability and natural flow.
Inspired by the Agile Manifesto, TBD emphasizes:
- Simplicity and Clarity over Complexity
- Craft structures instantly understandable to anyone.
- Modularity and Reusability over Reinvention
- Build tubes that can be effortlessly repurposed and combined.
- Self-Awareness and Adaptability over Rigidity
- Design systems that naturally adjust and optimize themselves during operation.
- Dynamic Evolution over Fixed Structures
- Allow systems to evolve organically, optimizing flow natively rather than being confined to rigid pathways.
- Collaboration and Transparency over Hierarchy
- Encourage open communication and visible transformations.
- Purposeful Execution over Unnecessary Movement
- Eliminate superfluous elements to achieve graceful scaling.
- Learning and Experimentation over Fear of Failure
- Embrace failures as stepping stones to growth.
- Independent Tubes: Each tube is a self-contained module with a specific purpose.
- Easy Maintenance: Update or replace tubes without affecting the entire system.
- Code Reusability: Use existing tubes across different projects to save time.
Example: Swap out a data validation tube for an improved version without disrupting downstream processes.
- Built-in Monitoring: Tubes track their performance and health.
- Real-time Adjustments: Automatically optimize based on feedback.
- Scaling: Tubes scale up or down in response to demand.
Example: A service tube auto-scales during peak usage, maintaining performance without manual intervention.
- Standardized Communication: Tubes use common protocols to interact.
- Dynamic Workflows: Easily reconfigure how tubes connect and process data.
- Enhanced Functionality: Combine tubes to create new features quickly.
Example: Combine processing and notification tubes to send alerts based on data analysis.
- Fault Tolerance: Tubes handle errors gracefully, ensuring system continuity.
- Redundancy: Critical tubes run multiple instances for reliability.
- Adaptive Recovery: Tubes reroute around issues without downtime.
Example: If a database tube fails, operations continue using a standby tube seamlessly.
Every software product can be modeled in a Tube Based Design. By using the design templates and forcing yourself to think first, design first, test first, and then implement code and iterate, your mean time to deploy tested changes to production is reduced dramatically. And, its more fun to code and test!
While it may take longer initially to design and implement software using TBD, investing time upfront leads to significant long-term benefits. Samstraumr aims to:
- Reduce Complexity: Focusing on one tube at a time simplifies coding and debugging.
- Accelerate Testing: Isolated tubes are easier and faster to test thoroughly.
- Simplify Deployment: Update individual tubes without redeploying the entire system.
- Enhance Team Productivity: Teams can work on different tubes simultaneously without difficult conflicts.
Samstraumr isn't just a framework; it's a philosophy that values elegance, efficiency, and collaboration. By adopting TBD, you can create maintainable, adaptable systems faster, leaving more time for creativity and less time spent on firefighting code issues.
For more information and to view Composite Tube proposals, visit the Proposals Documentation. Our proposed TBD Testing Strategy TBD Testing Strategy. To contact Eric, click his name at the top.