A pragmatic introduction to software architecture
Are you just starting to build software and overwhelmed by the sheer number of terms and concepts thrown your way? Are you struggling to make sense of the different components of software architecture and how they fit together? Software architecture is an incredibly powerful tool for developers but can be challenging to understand. In this blog post, we’ll walk through a pragmatic introduction to software architecture so you can start understanding why it’s important and how you can use it to build better software.
What is software architecture?
Software architecture is the art of designing software systems. It is a high-level view of a software system that describes its overall structure, its major components, and how those components interact.
A software architecture description can be used to guide the design of a software system. It can also assess whether a proposed design will work well. In either case, it is essential to have a clear understanding of the goals and constraints of the system before beginning the design process.
There are many different ways to describe software architecture. The most common approach is to use some form of graphical notation, such as the Unified Modeling Language (UML). Another popular approach is to write architectural descriptions in prose.
No matter how it is described, a software architecture should provide enough information to allow someone else to understand the design of a system and make decisions about its future development.
types of software architecture structures
There are three primary types of software architecture structures: monolithic, microservices, and distributed.
Monolithic architectures are typically large, complex applications built as a single unit. They are usually difficult to change and scale and costly to maintain.
Microservices architectures are composed of small, independent services that communicate with each other. They are much easier to change and scale than monolithic architectures and can be more resilient to failure.
Distributed architectures are similar to microservices architectures but with the addition of a message bus or other communication mechanism that allows the services to communicate with each other asynchronously. This can make them more scalable and resilient than monolithic or microservices architectures.
what is not software architecture
People talking about software architecture usually refers to specific architectural practices and principles. However, a few things are commonly mistaken for software architecture. Here are a few examples:
1. The code itself is not software architecture. The code is just one part of the overall system.
2. Documentation is not software architecture. Documentation can help communicate the architect’s vision, but it differs from the actual architecture.
3. diagrams and charts are not software architecture. Diagrams and charts can help visualize the system but differ from the actual architecture.
4. The file structure of the code is not software architecture. The file structure is just one part of the overall system.
5. The database schema is not a software architecture. The database schema is just one part of the overall system