https://DevOpsCloud.io -- Cloud Monk Losang Jinpa, Ph.D., MCSE/MCT, GitOps DevOps Engineer

Return to Simplicity, Simple, Complex

“The unavoidable price of reliability is simplicity.” — Tony Hoare

“Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.” — Alan Jay Perlis

In computing, “complexity” refers to the state of being intricate, multifaceted, or difficult to understand due to the presence of numerous interconnected components, dependencies, or interactions within a system, software application, or solution. Complex systems often involve a high degree of interrelatedness between various elements, making them challenging to design, implement, manage, and maintain. Complexity can arise from factors such as the scale of the system, the diversity of components, the sophistication of algorithms or logic, and the dynamic nature of interactions or data flows. Managing complexity is essential for ensuring system reliability, performance, and scalability while minimizing risks and vulnerabilities. Techniques for managing complexity include modular design, abstraction, encapsulation, separation of concerns, and hierarchical organization of components. Additionally, documentation, testing, and code reviews help mitigate the risks associated with complexity by improving understanding, identifying dependencies, and detecting potential issues early in the development process. While complexity is sometimes unavoidable in computing systems, efforts to manage and reduce complexity can lead to more maintainable, robust, and efficient solutions.

The word complexity refers to the state or quality of being intricate, multifaceted, or difficult to understand due to the presence of numerous interconnected components or layers. It often describes systems, problems, or concepts that require detailed analysis and comprehension. Complexity is widely used in fields such as science, mathematics, linguistics, and philosophy to denote structures or ideas with high levels of interdependence or unpredictability. The first recorded use of complexity in the English language dates back to the 17th century, around 1650.

The etymology of the word complexity originates from the Latin term “complexitas,” meaning “entwined” or “composed of interconnected parts.” This concept is derived from the root complexus, the past participle of “complecti,” meaning “to embrace” or “to encircle.” The term transitioned into English via Middle Latin and grew in usage during the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, when scholars began to analyze and categorize intricate systems. The evolution of complexity highlights its role in describing the depth and interconnectedness of various disciplines in Modern English.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complexity

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/complexity

Snippet from Wikipedia: Complexity

Complexity characterizes the behavior of a system or model whose components interact in multiple ways and follow local rules, leading to non-linearity, randomness, collective dynamics, hierarchy, and emergence.

The term is generally used to characterize something with many parts where those parts interact with each other in multiple ways, culminating in a higher order of emergence greater than the sum of its parts. The study of these complex linkages at various scales is the main goal of complex systems theory.

The intuitive criterion of complexity can be formulated as follows: a system would be more complex if more parts could be distinguished, and if more connections between them existed.

As of 2010, a number of approaches to characterizing complexity have been used in science; Zayed et al. reflect many of these. Neil Johnson states that "even among scientists, there is no unique definition of complexity – and the scientific notion has traditionally been conveyed using particular examples..." Ultimately Johnson adopts the definition of "complexity science" as "the study of the phenomena which emerge from a collection of interacting objects".

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0