The Eiffel method helps to design software that is modular, maintainable and correct.
The video below explains why Eiffel is used in the Software Design course EECS3311. The course also studies design patterns, information hiding, and abstraction.
Why Eiffel?
Eiffel is a pure, statically typed OO language.
Eiffel has built-in support for Design By Contract.
“Mechanisms such as “design by contract,” now available in mainstream programming languages, should be taught as part of introductory programming, as is done in the introductory programming language sequence at Carnegie Mellon University. Students who learn the benefits of principled thinking and see the value of the related tools will retain these lessons throughout their careers. We are failing our computer science majors if we do not teach them about the value of formal specifications.” (Thomas Ball and Benjamin Zorn, principal researchers at Microsoft Research).
Eiffel is arguably one of the best (if not the best) industrial strength object-oriented language available today (Jim Rumbaugh). It has influenced other languages such as Java, C# and UML.
Companies use Eiffel because it provides the right paradigms to address the construction of large, high-quality object oriented software systems (authors of Design Patterns and Contracts).
Eiffel is more than a language; it is a framework for thinking about, designing and implementing object-oriented software (Richard Wiener).1)
View the video below in High Definition for the best results.
Channel9: “The Eiffel programming language is an object-oriented language that is based on a fixed set of powerful principles like Design by Contract and Command-Query Separation. It's a very powerful language that has impacted the evolution of the more popular general purpose OO languages such as Java and C#. At Lang.NEXT 2012, I caught up with Emmanuel Stapf, head of the Compiler Division at Eiffel Software, to briefly discuss what's new in Eiffel.”
Software Design (CSE3311) uses the Eiffel programming language. An introductory text to the Eiffel language is here. Slides and video presentations are available.
