needscode

Needscode is a hypothetical programming concept used in discussions of minimal dependency models and need-based computation. The term combines "need" and "code" to describe a family of design ideas in which software components declare what they require and what they provide, rather than invoking fixed procedural sequences.

In a needscode model, each module specifies two kinds of declarations: needs, the resources or services it requires to operate; and provides, the capabilities it offers to other modules. An orchestrator or resolver takes a configuration of blocks and wires them by matching provides to needs, enabling assembly either at build time or at runtime. This decoupling supports easier replacement of components and more flexible experimentation with architectures, since changes in one module rarely cascade into tight coupling elsewhere.

Example (illustrative only): a module A might declare needs: [network, storage], provides: [data-queue]. A module B provides: [network] and [storage], so the orchestrator can pair A with B without A depending on the specifics of B. If another storage provider is available, A can work with it without modification.

Origins and status: needscode appears in theoretical writings and educational contexts as a way to discuss dependency management and modularity. It is not a standardized language or widely adopted framework; implementations vary and the concept remains largely conceptual rather than a concrete toolchain.

Related concepts include dependency injection, modular programming, service-oriented architecture, and declarative configuration languages.