Tight Coupling
Tight coupling is a software design concept where components in a system are highly dependent on each other, with direct knowledge of each other's internal workings. This creates strong interdependencies, meaning changes in one component often require modifications in others, reducing flexibility and maintainability. It contrasts with loose coupling, where components interact through well-defined interfaces with minimal dependencies.
Developers should understand tight coupling to avoid it in most modern software development, as it leads to brittle, hard-to-test, and difficult-to-scale systems. It is sometimes intentionally used in performance-critical or simple, monolithic applications where overhead from abstraction is unacceptable, but generally, it is considered an anti-pattern that hinders modularity and reusability. Learning about it helps in designing systems with better separation of concerns and easier maintenance.