Inversion of Control
Hollywood Principle
A software design principle where a framework calls your code, rather than your code calling the framework. Often summarized as "don't call us, we'll call you."
EverydayConcepts.io
Origin
The principle emerged in the 1980s with the rise of object-oriented frameworks. Martin Fowler's influential 2004 article helped clarify the concept and its relationship to dependency injection. Robert C. Martin popularized the related "Dependency Inversion Principle" in the 1990s. The "Hollywood Principle" — "don't call us, we'll call you" — captures the core idea: the framework is in charge of the flow.
Updated February 22, 2026