TOPCIT Software | 06. Software Architecture

Summary

This script delves into the core components of software architecture, including meta-architecture, guidelines, and policies. It explains the significance of defining views, the role of software architecture in development, and the impact on project organization and system quality. The video also explores various architectural styles, such as dataflow, call-return, data-centered, and event system groups, emphasizing the importance of high-level design for creating modular, scalable, and maintainable software systems.

Takeaways

• 📚 The script discusses the components of software architecture, focusing on meta architecture, software architecture, and guidelines and policies.
• 🔍 Meta architecture provides general guidelines and design patterns for software architecture, including templates for architectural documents.
• 🌐 Software architecture is described through four views: module, component and connector, allocation, and code view, which aid in deriving context diagrams and specifications.
• 👥 Defining views should consider selection criteria and notes, as different people may have varying methods for description, such as diagrams, shapes, boxes, and lines.
• 🛠 The number of views chosen depends on factors like developer competence, domain understanding, previous project experience, and major issues to be addressed.
• 🔑 Architectural design impacts the overall system structure, project organization, and quality attributes such as functionality, availability, changeability, security, and performance.
• 📈 UML 2.0 has adopted architecture definitions from Carnegie Mellon University to simplify the representation of architectural views.
• 🛑 Guidelines and policies are crucial for determining software architecture and conducting projects based on the defined architecture, covering aspects from design to system operation.
• 🔄 The role of software architecture in development includes communication between stakeholders, early decision-making, overall system structure determination, and development project organization.
• 🔍 Types of software architecture are categorized into dataflow, call return, data centered, and event system groups, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
• 🏗️ High-level design aims to develop a modular software architecture, involving decomposing the system into clear modules and describing their integration and interaction.
• 🔧 Object-oriented methodology involves refining object and behavior analysis models into a design model, considering logical software architecture and client-server architecture.

Q & A

What are the three main components of a software architecture in high-level design?

The three main components are meta architecture, software architecture, and guidelines and policies.

What is the role of meta architecture in software design?

Meta architecture serves as a general guideline for designing and architecture, providing a set of general decision trees and design patterns for defining the architecture of the software.

What are the four views that constitute the software architecture?

The four views are the module view, component and connector view, allocation view, and code view.

Why is it important to derive context diagrams, components specification, and interface specification from architectural design?

These derivations are important as they provide a clear understanding of the system's structure and behavior, which is essential for effective communication and further development.

How many views are typically defined in a software architecture, and what factors determine the appropriate number?

Typically, three views are defined: module view, component and connector view, and allocation view, with the code view sometimes added. The appropriate number of views depends on factors such as the competence of developers, understanding of the domain, experience from previous projects, and the major issues to be addressed.

What are the roles of software architecture in system development?

The roles include facilitating communication between stakeholders, aiding in early decision-making, determining the overall system structure, influencing the organization of the development project, and predicting the system's quality attributes.

How does the software architecture impact the development process?

The software architecture impacts the development process by guiding the design using patterns and guidelines, providing coding standards, and offering deployment guidelines, which contribute to building a structured and stable software architecture.

What are the types of software architecture grouped into, and what are some examples of each?

The types are grouped into dataflow, call return, data centered, and event system groups. Examples include batch sequential processing and filter types for dataflow, layers, main programs and subroutines, and object-oriented types for call return, centralized data repository and data-consuming client for data centered, and implicit call and explicit call types for event systems.

What is the purpose of structured high-level design in software development?

The purpose of structured high-level design is to develop a modular software architecture based on specifications, which involves decomposing the system into clear modules and describing how these modules integrate and interact.

How does the task structure design phase contribute to the development of a software system?

The task structure design phase contributes by identifying tasks that can be performed simultaneously, describing the dynamic aspects of the system, and integrating tasks within time constraints, which helps in organizing the system's processes effectively.

What are the key activities involved in determining the logical software architecture?

Key activities include vertical layering, horizontal decomposition, subsystem decomposition, technology environment definition, and subsystem interface design.