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Another benefit of this hard separation of Modules are the “social” implications.
Since Modules are accessed through the abstract interface provided by
LabRAD, it is possible to use them without ever having to look at their sourcecode.
Thus, Modules can and will be effectively treated as black boxes, which has
two main advantages.
First, since it is never necessary to look at a Module’s source-code, the perception
of the Module as a magical whole remains, quenching the desire for another
user to ever mess with it. Just like most people would never consider editing a
program like Open Office despite the fact that the source code is available. People
either find ways around missing features or request their implementation from
the original developers, rather than trying to add new features themselves, which
always bears the risk of breaking existing code.
Secondly, the hard separation makes it easy to declare a specific person responsible
for the maintenance of the Module. This way, any code changes are
made by the person that has the best overview of potential implications for both
reliability and performance.
Last, but not least, the modular nature of LabRAD addresses the Abstraction
Requirement very effectively. A LabRAD system can be layered just like the HALs
(Hardware Abstraction Layers) used in operating systems. For example, there can
be one Module each to provide access to the lab’s different GPIB buses. A single
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