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

In computer science, separation of concerns (SoC) is the design principle of organizing a codebase into distinct sections, each addressing a single concern. SoC is the design principle that guides modular programming; a program that embodies SoC can be called a modular program. SoC/modularity is achieved by encapsulating logic and data inside a section of code that has a well-defined interface. Layered designs in information systems are another embodiment of separation of concerns (e.g., presentation layer, business logic layer, data access layer, persistence layer).

Edsger W. Dijkstra in his 1974 paper "On the Role of Scientific Thought", coined the term separation of concerns in relation to software qualities such as correctness and efficiency.

Carlo Ghezzi in his book "Fundamentals of software engineering" promotes Separation Of Concerns as the primary way to tackle the inherited complexity in software production.

Philippe Kruchten in his article "Architectural Blueprints—The “4+1” View Model of Software Architecture" used a model composed of five main views to address large architectures, essentially this is a view-based separation of concerns, where each view focus on a different aspect of the architecture.

According to Carlo Ghezzi, the main benefit of software modularity is that it allows the application of the separation of concerns principle to system components, or "modules." Module details can be addressed in isolation; furthermore, module integration is treated as a separate concern that deals with the overall characteristics of software modules and their relationships.

Laplante, Phillip also mentioned that separation of concerns can be applied in software design, coding, time, and software qualities.