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Table of contents

As explained in The Art of Code

A table of contents is a top-level narrative structure that orders major chapters to present the scope of a complete story or workflow.

A table of contents is the highest narrative level in code: it orders chapters along a story arc and exposes the full scope of a workflow. section 2.3.4

Use the hierarchy to keep responsibilities readable:

  • Actions handle low-level mechanics. section 2.3.4
  • Scenes group focused actions into a meaningful moment with one dominant plot. section 2.3.4
  • Chapters combine aligned scenes around one coherent business goal. section 2.3.4
  • The table-of-contents level orders those chapters as the workflow’s high-level overview. section 2.3.4

Completing user registration

A table-of-contents-level method creates a pending user, attempts confirmation-email delivery, and records delivery failure when necessary.

How The Art of Code covers it

How deep it goes
Defines the hierarchy and illustrates its code application, stopping at workflow organization rather than implementation mechanics.
Examples
Uses user registration, confirmation-email delivery, archiving, and delivering workflows as concrete narrative structures.
What it assumes
Assumes familiarity with methods and workflows while defining the narrative hierarchy from its smallest actions upward.
What you can do after
Apply it by organizing workflow methods into actions, scenes, chapters, and ordered high-level entry points.
How it connects
Connects actions, scenes, chapters, narrative code, and story arcs.
Cover of The Art of Code
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Related concepts

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of The Art of Code. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.