Architectural Views
Software architecture provides a structure about the software by putting together architectural views in an organized fashion.
According to Perry and Wolfe:
Software architecture = {elements, forms, rationale}
These elements are further divided into 3 categories. - Data elements - Processing elements - Connecting elements
| View | Components | Users | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Functional View | functions, key system abstractions, domain elements | domain engineers, product-line designers, end users | functionality, modifiability, product lines/reusability, tool support, work allocation |
| Code View | classes, objects, procedures, functions, subsystems, layers, modules | programmers, designers, reusers | modifiability/maintainabi lity, portability, subsetability |
| Development View | files, directories | managers, programmers, configuration managers | managers, programmers, configuration managers |
| Physical View | CPUs, sensors, storage | hardware engineers, system engineers | system delivery and installation, performance, availability, scalability, security |
| Concurrency View | processes, threads | performance engineers, integrators, testers | performance, availability |
views are used as documentation vehicle for current development and future development.
Users are views are both managers and customers.
Hierarchical Views
Every view is almost hierarchical.
- function view can contain sub-functions
- development view contains directories which contain files.
- code view would have modules and systems that contain sub-modules and sub-systems
- concurrency views would have processes that contain threads
Architectural Styles
Each style describes a system category that encompasses: 1. a set of components (e.g. database, computational modules) that perform a function required by a system 2. a set of connectors that enable "communication, coordination and cooperation" among components 3. constraints that define how components can be integrated to form the system and semantic modes that enable a designer to understand the overall properties of a system by analyzing the known properties of its constituent parts.