object-oriented programming Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of '' objects''. Objects can contain data (called fields, attributes or properties) and have actions they can perform (called procedures or methods and impl ...

, sequential coupling (also known as temporal coupling) is a form of coupling where a

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

requires its

method Method (, methodos, from μετά/meta "in pursuit or quest of" + ὁδός/hodos "a method, system; a way or manner" of doing, saying, etc.), literally means a pursuit of knowledge, investigation, mode of prosecuting such inquiry, or system. In re ...

s to be called in a particular sequence. This may be an

anti-pattern An anti-pattern in software engineering, project management, and business processes is a common response to a recurring problem that is usually ineffective and risks being highly counterproductive. The term, coined in 1995 by computer programmer An ...

, depending on context. Methods whose name starts with Init, Begin, Start, etc. may indicate the existence of sequential coupling. Using a car as an analogy, if the user steps on the gas without first starting the engine, the car does not crash, fail, or throw an exception - it simply fails to accelerate. Sequential coupling can be refactored with the template method pattern to overcome the problems posed by the usage of this

References

{{Reflist Anti-patterns