Imagine two machines that are integrated with each other.
In scenario 1, there is one pipe that connects them.
In scenario 2, there are many pipes that connect different components of them together.
Is there an eng term for describing the difference between these integrations?
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loosely vs. tightly coupled? or weakly vs. strongly coupled? simple vs. complex coupling? Key diff seems to be whether in scenario b whether there is parallelism.
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Is there is a heuristic for when either form of coupling is better than the other?
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I think you'd have to get into the nature of the coupling. Is the multi-point coupling functionally differentiated or redundant? Are all equally critical?
For eg. in a train, there are mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic connections between cars. The mechanical one is a SPOF. If it fails, the other two get ripped apart too. But if electrical fails, then the train can keep moving, it's just electrical supply that fails (I think)
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iirc the pneumatic one is interesting... at least in some trains, if pneumatic fails, that actually triggers brakes held open by the pneumatic circuit, it's a sort of fail safe.
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