Architectural Design: Establishing The Overall Structure of A Software System

Architectural Design
Establishing the overall

structure of a software system
Ian Sommerville 2000
Software Engineering, 6th edition. Chapter 10
Slide 1
Objectives
To introduce architectural design and to discuss

its importance
To explain why multiple models are required to
document a software architecture
To describe types of architectural model that may
be used
To discuss how domain-specific reference models
may be used as a basis for product-lines and to
compare software architectures
Slide 2
Topics covered
System structuring
Control models
Modular decomposition
Domain-specific architectures
Slide 3
Software architecture
The design process for identifying the subsystems making up a system and the framework
for sub-system control and communication is
architectural design
The output of this design process is a description
of the software architecture
Slide 4
Architectural design
An early stage of the system design process

Represents the link between specification and
design processes
Often carried out in parallel with some
specification activities
It involves identifying major system components
and their communications
Slide 5
Advantages of explicit architecture
Stakeholder communication
System analysis
Architecture may be used as a focus of discussion by system

stakeholders
Means that analysis of whether the system can meet its nonfunctional requirements is possible
Large-scale reuse
The architecture may be reusable across a range of systems
Slide 6
Architectural design process
System structuring
Control modelling
The system is decomposed into several principal sub-systems

and communications between these sub-systems are identified
A model of the control relationships between the different parts
of the system is established
The identified sub-systems are decomposed into modules
Slide 7
Sub-systems and modules
A sub-system is a system in its own right whose

operation is independent of the services provided
by other sub-systems.
A module is a system component that provides
services to other components but would not
normally be considered as a separate system
Slide 8
Architectural models
Different architectural models may be produced

during the design process
Each model presents different perspectives on the
architecture
Slide 9
Architectural models
Static structural model that shows the major

system components
Dynamic process model that shows the process
structure of the system
Interface model that defines sub-system
interfaces
Relationships model such as a data-flow model
Slide 10
Architectural styles
The architectural model of a system may conform

to a generic architectural model or style
An awareness of these styles can simplify the
problem of defining system architectures
However, most large systems are heterogeneous
and do not follow a single architectural style
Slide 11
Architecture attributes
Performance
Security
Isolate safety-critical components
Availability
Use a layered architecture with critical assets in inner layers
Safety
Localise operations to minimise sub-system communication
Include redundant components in the architecture
Maintainability
Use fine-grain, self-contained components
Slide 12
System structuring
Concerned with decomposing the system into

interacting sub-systems
The architectural design is normally expressed as
a block diagram presenting an overview of the
system structure
More specific models showing how sub-systems
share data, are distributed and interface with each
other may also be developed
Slide 13
Packing robot control system

Vision
system
Object
identification
system
Arm
controller
Gripper
controller
Packaging
selection
system
Packing
system
Conveyor
controller
Slide 14
The repository model
Sub-systems must exchange data. This may be

done in two ways:
Shared data is held in a central database or repository and may

be accessed by all sub-systems
Each sub-system maintains its own database and passes data
explicitly to other sub-systems
When large amounts of data are to be shared, the

repository model of sharing is most commonly
used
Slide 15
CASE toolset architecture

Design
editor
Design
translator
Project
repository
Design
analyser
Code
generator
Program
editor
Report
generator
Slide 16
Repository model characteristics
Advantages
Efficient way to share large amounts of data

Sub-systems need not be concerned with how data is produced
Centralised management e.g. backup, security, etc.
Sharing model is published as the repository schema
Disadvantages
Sub-systems must agree on a repository data model. Inevitably a

compromise
Data evolution is difficult and expensive
No scope for specific management policies
Difficult to distribute efficiently
Slide 17
Client-server architecture
Distributed system model which shows how data

and processing is distributed across a range of
components
Set of stand-alone servers which provide specific
services such as printing, data management, etc.
Set of clients which call on these services
Network which allows clients to access servers
Slide 18
Film and picture library

Client 1
Client 2
Client 3
Client 4
Wide-bandwidth network
Catalogue
server
Video
server
Picture
server
Hypertext
server
Catalogue
Film clip
files
Digitiz ed
photographs
Hypertext
web
Slide 19
Client-server characteristics
Advantages
Distribution of data is straightforward

Makes effective use of networked systems. May require cheaper
hardware
Easy to add new servers or upgrade existing servers
Disadvantages
No shared data model so sub-systems use different data

organisation. data interchange may be inefficient
Redundant management in each server
No central register of names and services - it may be hard to
find out what servers and services are available
Slide 20
Abstract machine model
Used to model the interfacing of sub-systems

Organises the system into a set of layers (or
abstract machines) each of which provide a set of
services
Supports the incremental development of subsystems in different layers. When a layer
interface changes, only the adjacent layer is
affected
However, often difficult to structure systems in
this way
Slide 21
Version management system

Version management
Object management
Database system
Operating
system
Slide 22
Control models
Are concerned with the control flow between

sub-systems. Distinct from the system
decomposition model
Centralised control
One sub-system has overall responsibility for control and starts

and stops other sub-systems
Event-based control
Each sub-system can respond to externally generated events

from other sub-systems or the systems environment
Slide 23
Centralised control
A control sub-system takes responsibility for

managing the execution of other sub-systems
Call-return model
Top-down subroutine model where control starts at the top of a

subroutine hierarchy and moves downwards. Applicable to
sequential systems
Manager model
Applicable to concurrent systems. One system component

controls the stopping, starting and coordination of other system
processes. Can be implemented in sequential systems as a case
statement
Slide 24
Call-return model
Main
program
Routine 1
Routine 1.1
Routine 2
Routine 1.2
Routine 3
Routine 3.1
Routine 3.2
Slide 25
Real-time system control

Sensor
processes
Actuator
processes
System
contr oller
Computation
processes
User
interface
Fault
handler
Slide 26
Event-driven systems
Driven by externally generated events where the

timing of the event is outwith the control of the
sub-systems which process the event
Two principal event-driven models
Broadcast models. An event is broadcast to all sub-systems.

Any sub-system which can handle the event may do so
Interrupt-driven models. Used in real-time systems where
interrupts are detected by an interrupt handler and passed to
some other component for processing
Other event driven models include spreadsheets

and production systems
Slide 27
Broadcast model
Effective in integrating sub-systems on different

computers in a network
Sub-systems register an interest in specific
events. When these occur, control is transferred
to the sub-system which can handle the event
Control policy is not embedded in the event and
message handler. Sub-systems decide on events
of interest to them
However, sub-systems dont know if or when an
event will be handled
Slide 28
Selective broadcasting
Sub-system
1
Sub-system
2
Sub-system
3
Sub-system
4
Event and messa ge handler
Slide 29
Interrupt-driven systems
Used in real-time systems where fast response to

an event is essential
There are known interrupt types with a handler
defined for each type
Each type is associated with a memory location
and a hardware switch causes transfer to its
handler
Allows fast response but complex to program and
difficult to validate
Slide 30
Interrupt-driven control
Interrupts
Interrupt
vector
Handler
1
Handler
2
Handler
3
Handler
4
Process
1
Process
2
Process
3
Process
4
Slide 31
Another structural level where sub-systems are

decomposed into modules
Two modular decomposition models covered
An object model where the system is decomposed into

interacting objects
A data-flow model where the system is decomposed into
functional modules which transform inputs to outputs. Also
known as the pipeline model
If possible, decisions about concurrency should

be delayed until modules are implemented
Slide 32
Object models
Structure the system into a set of loosely coupled

objects with well-defined interfaces
Object-oriented decomposition is concerned with
identifying object classes, their attributes and
operations
When implemented, objects are created from
these classes and some control model used to
coordinate object operations
Slide 33
Invoice processing system

Customer
customer#
name
address
credit period
Payment
invoice#
date
amount
customer#
Receipt
Invoice
invoice#
date
amount
customer
invoice#
date
amount
customer#
issue ()
sendR eminder ()
acceptPayment ()
sendR eceipt ()
Slide 34
Data-flow models
Functional transformations process their inputs to

produce outputs
May be referred to as a pipe and filter model (as
in UNIX shell)
Variants of this approach are very common.
When transformations are sequential, this is a
batch sequential model which is extensively used
in data processing systems
Not really suitable for interactive systems
Slide 35
Invoice processing system
Read issued
invoices
Invoices
Issue
receipts
Receipts
Find
payments
due
Issue
payment
reminder
Identify
payments
Reminders
Payments
Slide 36
Domain-specific architectures
Architectural models which are specific to some

application domain
Two types of domain-specific model
Generic models which are abstractions from a number of real

systems and which encapsulate the principal characteristics of
these systems
Reference models which are more abstract, idealised model.
Provide a means of information about that class of system and
of comparing different architectures
Generic models are usually bottom-up models;

Reference models are top-down models
Slide 37
Generic models
Compiler model is a well-known example

although other models exist in more specialised
application domains
Lexical analyser
Symbol table
Syntax analyser
Syntax tree
Semantic analyser
Code generator
Generic compiler model may be organised

according to different architectural models
Slide 38
Compiler model
Symbol
table
Lexical
analysis
Syntactic
analysis
Semantic
analysis
Code
generation
Slide 39
Language processing system

Lexical
analyser
Syntax
analyser
Semantic
analyser
Prettyprinter
Abstract
syntax tree
Grammar
definition
Optimizer
Editor
Symbol
table
Output
definition
Code
generator
Repository
Slide 40
Reference architectures
Reference models are derived from a study of the

application domain rather than from existing
systems
May be used as a basis for system
implementation or to compare different systems.
It acts as a standard against which systems can be
evaluated
OSI model is a layered model for communication
systems
Slide 41
OSI reference model

7
Application
Application
Application
Presentation
Presentation
Session
Session
Transport
Transport
Network
Network
Network
Data link
Data link
Data link
Physical
Physical
Physical
Communica tions medium

Slide 42
Key points
The software architect is responsible for deriving

a structural system model, a control model and a
sub-system decomposition model
Large systems rarely conform to a single
architectural model
System decomposition models include repository
models, client-server models and abstract
machine models
Control models include centralised control and
event-driven models
Slide 43
Key points
Modular decomposition models include data-flow

and object models
Domain specific architectural models are
abstractions over an application domain. They
may be constructed by abstracting from existing
systems or may be idealised reference models
Slide 44

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Architectural Design

Establishing the overall

Ian Sommerville 2000

Software Engineering, 6th edition. Chapter 10

To introduce architectural design and to discuss

Ian Sommerville 2000

Software Engineering, 6th edition. Chapter 10

Ian Sommerville 2000

Software Engineering, 6th edition. Chapter 10

Ian Sommerville 2000

Software Engineering, 6th edition. Chapter 10

An early stage of the system design process

Ian Sommerville 2000

Software Engineering, 6th edition. Chapter 10

Advantages of explicit architecture

Architecture may be used as a focus of discussion by system

The architecture may be reusable across a range of systems

Ian Sommerville 2000

Software Engineering, 6th edition. Chapter 10

Architectural design process

The system is decomposed into several principal sub-systems

The identified sub-systems are decomposed into modules

Ian Sommerville 2000

Software Engineering, 6th edition. Chapter 10

Sub-systems and modules

A sub-system is a system in its own right whose

Ian Sommerville 2000

Software Engineering, 6th edition. Chapter 10

Different architectural models may be produced

Ian Sommerville 2000

Software Engineering, 6th edition. Chapter 10

Static structural model that shows the major

Ian Sommerville 2000

Software Engineering, 6th edition. Chapter 10

The architectural model of a system may conform

Ian Sommerville 2000

Software Engineering, 6th edition. Chapter 10

Isolate safety-critical components

Use a layered architecture with critical assets in inner layers

Localise operations to minimise sub-system communication

Include redundant components in the architecture

Use fine-grain, self-contained components

Ian Sommerville 2000

Software Engineering, 6th edition. Chapter 10

Concerned with decomposing the system into

Ian Sommerville 2000

Software Engineering, 6th edition. Chapter 10

Packing robot control system

Ian Sommerville 2000

The repository model

Sub-systems must exchange data. This may be

Shared data is held in a central database or repository and may

When large amounts of data are to be shared, the

Ian Sommerville 2000

Software Engineering, 6th edition. Chapter 10

CASE toolset architecture

Ian Sommerville 2000

Software Engineering, 6th edition. Chapter 10