toppling

adj : falling over as if from top-heaviness or lack of support; "a

toppling pile of books"; "toppling empires"

coupling

The degree to which components depend

on one another. There are two types of coupling, "tight" and

"loose". Loose coupling is desirable for good {software

engineering} but tight coupling may be necessary for maximum

performance. Coupling is increased when the data exchanged

between components becomes larger or more complex.

(1996-08-01)