Abstract
In technical design of software systems as conventionally practiced, call graphs often contain cycles. We show that cyclic call graphs are highly problematic for a number of reasons, the most important being that they require careful handling on a case-by-case basis by custom-written code, thus preventing the standardization, and therefore the automation, of system assembly. We discuss refactoring strategies for systematically eliminating call cycles, including a universally applicable technique for trivially eliminating a certain common type of call cycle. We conclude that since call cycles can be avoided or eliminated, they can be comprehensively disallowed, thus paving the way for the standardization and automation of system assembly.
