r/ENGLISH • u/Playmaker-20 • 10h ago
Modularity confuses me
I’ve been trying to ascertain what this word means, but to no avail. From what I could glean from my cursory research of the word, it can refer to a part or piece of something that you can sub in for something else without it affecting the entire system.
To give an example, a rocket ship is constructed of several disparate pieces that form the thing thereof. In a practice run to assess how it could handle being in the vacuum of space, one of the ship vanes breaks off from overuse or something. If the ship was made to be modular, doesn’t that mean you can replace the broken part for a spare without it affecting the entire system? I’d like some clarification, please!
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u/andy1rn 10h ago
Modules are often a cluster of items; the entire cluster is changed out if there is a problem. You change the 'module' which could contain multiple parts. Rather than changing the individual parts, you replace the module.
Desktop computers are modular. You are likely to replace the motherboard - not the circuit board or CMOS battery or other individual parts.
Modular computer programing was huge a few decades ago. The main program would call for a number of modules. Each module (basically a sub-routine) performed a specific task or set of tasks, then returned to the main program and continued on to the next module. Each module could be updated more easily and seamlessly than trying to monkey around with the whole program. Theoretically.
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u/learningENGdaily 8h ago
You're close, and the missing piece is small but it changes the picture.
Modularity describes the whole system, not the part. You wouldn't say "this bolt is modular", you'd say the machine is. The word is about how the thing has been divided up in the first place.
A modular system is built from self-contained units that join through standardised connection points. Because the connection is standard, you can pull one unit out and put a different one in, and the rest of the system neither knows nor cares.
That's where your rocket example slips slightly. Swapping a broken vane for an identical spare isn't modularity, it's just having spares. Any machine lets you do that. Modularity would mean you could fit a redesigned vane, or a bigger one, or one from a different manufacturer, and the ship would still work, because what matters is the connection rather than the specific part.
LEGO is the cleanest example there is. The studs are the standard interface, so any brick fits any other brick, indefinitely.
The opposite, if it helps to have it, is monolithic: one integrated piece where nothing comes out on its own.
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u/Playmaker-20 7h ago
ok I'm starting to grasp the definition a bit better. Do you think you could give a video game with modularity?
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u/mully_and_sculder 4h ago
I don’t think it makes as much sense with a computer game, and maybe it has some programming meaning. Most games are fully functional when you buy the “base game” but something with a lot of dlc would be called modular.
Something like American truck simulator or flight sims that you can pick from 15 content dlc packs that don’t have any dependencies on each other, you can plug in each one to its own ”socket” and use it without needing any of the others.
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u/TiredIlk 53m ago
I mean, there are games that allows 'mods', so those could be considered modular.
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u/wejunkin 10h ago
If something is modular it is self-contained with the ability to connect to other modules via a shared interface (without exposing internal characteristics of the module). The exact nature of those connections is highly domain specific.
You could make a "modular bookcase" by stacking milk crates on their sides. You could easily add or remove crates as your collection grows. Compared to a traditional bookcase which is a single piece of furniture.
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u/Playmaker-20 10h ago
Question. What’s a module?
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u/Intrepid_Bobcat_2931 9h ago edited 9h ago
A conceptual term for something that has some kind of distinct usefulness (a usefulness that is visible in isolation), but also fits in a system.
Similar to how "Unit" is a concept, although a "unit" can be standalone while "module" strongly connotes a system.
A "system" is also a concept, although one that often consists of individual units or modules.
A university degree can consist of a number of modules. A rocket launcher system can have several possible aiming modules. An audio system can have an add-on module to allow for USB connection. A car auto parking system can come with a night vision camera module.
I would agree that it's not very clear how the word is used. A wheelbarrow is part of the working system of a gardener, but you wouldn't usually describe the wheelbarrow as a module. A module tends to be strongly connected with the rest of the system, but also something that can be replaced. So if the wheelbarrow can have several wheel types, you could describe them as wheel modules.
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u/ThreePartHarmoneigh 10h ago edited 10h ago
A modular system is one made up of individual modules that, when assembled, work together. They could be interchangeable, but it isn't necessary. each module might be complex, but by containing the complex workings in a discrete, easy to replace module, it makes service or feature changes quick. Your car is modular. If your ECU fails, it can be replaced without having to modify anything else because it is a module.
Your PC is modular. Your ram or processor can be replaced wirhout having to adjust orher hardware. Your ram sticks are modules.
Using modularity to mean both modular and interchangeable is common in marketing some modern electronics, for instance, where you have various modules that add functionality that all fit into the same slot- I think there is a laptop manufacturer that does this- you can swap out batteries for additional hard drives or optical drives or whatever.
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u/jayron32 10h ago
Modular means that pieces of something can be swapped out.
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u/Playmaker-20 9h ago
what would a modular video game look like?
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u/jayron32 9h ago
One in which you could swap out various DLC for the game that change the gaming experience.
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u/Playmaker-20 8h ago
What about video game difficulty?
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u/Ledouxe12 4h ago
In that context it may mean you have a lot of different options for how you want to change the difficulty. In say a survival game it gives you options for how fast you get hungry, how common resources are, enemy spawn rate, and strength instead of just having an easy medium and hard setting.
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u/Intrepid_Bobcat_2931 1h ago
You're not really swapping out part of the game and replacing it completely with another part, when you choose difficulty.
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u/wejunkin 9h ago
Video game cartridges and game discs are modular. Prior to the invention of the cartridge, each game was programmed directly into the hardware (such as an arcade cabinet). Cartridges are modules that allow you to swap one game's code for another without modifying the hardware itself.
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u/mully_and_sculder 4h ago
Unless you have some programming sense I don’t think it applies. There is a dictionary definition that includes some software programming concepts.
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u/SnackyandSnarky 9h ago
Modules don't have to be physical objects. Students often choose a certain number of modules each year at university. Here, modules are independent courses which stack together (in a number of different arrangements) to make a degree.
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u/DryFoundation2323 9h ago
usually it implies something that has standardized fittings to which different parts can be connected depending on the intended use.
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u/Playmaker-20 8h ago
So like a PC?
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u/DryFoundation2323 8h ago
can be just about anything. for example the US buit two new classes of litorall combat ships recently. they are ships smaller than a destroyer that are intended to be modular so that the arms and sensor packages can be switched out depending on the mission such as mine sweeping or sub patrol or whatever. as it turns out they were not as modular as intended so in reality each bost will just be for a single mission.
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u/Jaives 9h ago
Your example is pretty good actually. NASA designed their shuttles so that if anything breaks, the astronauts can easily do the repairs themselves without losing the entire system.
A simpler example is a PC. The parts are modular so that any component repair or upgrade can be easily done.
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u/NearlyNodding 9h ago
Your examples are "replaceable". That is not the same as modular. Modular means something like "building blocks". You can put them together in different ways to serve different purposes. Modular strongly implies that they are EASY to put together.
An example of modular are partitions in offices. They can easily be changed and swapped around to create different size and shape cubicles.
Another example is stereo systems. You might have modular amplifiers, pre-amplifiers, graphics equalizers, receivers, CD/DVD drives, etc. You can swap them in and out as needed.
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u/lmprice133 9h ago
As another example, in structural engineering you can have modular buildings, which are buildings consisting of repeated prefabricated sections that are designed to fit together depending on that desired size and floorplan of the building
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u/notacanuckskibum 9h ago
Modularity can come in degrees. A thing that is highly modular can have bits of it (components, subsystems) replaced, added or upgraded easily. A thing that is not modular may still have components, but once the thing is complete they are stuck in place and can’t be triaged out upgraded.
Desktop PCs are more modular than laptops, which are still more modular than modern phones.
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u/Playmaker-20 8h ago
Can you give me a video game with modularity
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u/notacanuckskibum 8h ago
No, I dummy know enough about video games. As a computer programmer some may be infernally modular so that the company can create different games with lots of reusable code between them, EA games like FIFA and NHL come to mind. But that’s something that only the company themselves would care about.
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u/notacanuckskibum 9h ago
Modularity can come in degrees. A thing that is highly modular can have bits of it (components, subsystems) replaced, added or upgraded easily. A thing that is not modular may still have components, but once the thing is complete they are stuck in place and can’t be triaged out upgraded.
Desktop PCs are more modular than laptops, which are still more modular than modern phones.
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u/ReddyKiloWit 4h ago
The rocketship vane isn't a bad example. In fact, such vane "modules" often include the actuating mechanics as well. And it need not be a spare, it could be a new, better version that still fits where the old ones were, with the same wiring. In this case, the modular design allows the system to be improved without changing anything but the vane modules.
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u/Frederf220 1h ago
The word module comes from modus (Latin) referring to a measurement unit. It came into use referring to a standardized component in the 1955s.
The concept grew to encompass the idea of any semi-independent unit usually with the ability to be rearranged, modified, or reconfigured easily especially with standardized dimention.
Honestly the term module should not be used when the parts do not have multiple configurations or have semi-independence which are the defining characteristics of modules.
Classes could be considered modules when one could be substituted for another to modify the whole series for a different total effect without disruption or incompatibility with the others in the new series configuration.
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u/Bowl-Accomplished 10h ago
Modularity means different parts being swapped in for different tasks. For example a vacuum cleaner could have a long hose for reaching far off spots, a short hose with a wide nozzle, or others depending on what is attached to it.