The document discusses architectural design in software engineering. It describes architectural design as identifying the major subsystems of a system and how they communicate and interface with each other. The output of architectural design is a description of the software architecture. The document outlines some key aspects of architectural design such as system structuring, control modeling, modular decomposition, and different architectural models. It also discusses common architectural styles like the repository model, client-server model, and abstract machine model.
The document discusses architectural design in software engineering. It describes architectural design as identifying the major subsystems of a system and how they communicate and interface with each other. The output of architectural design is a description of the software architecture. The document outlines some key aspects of architectural design such as system structuring, control modeling, modular decomposition, and different architectural models. It also discusses common architectural styles like the repository model, client-server model, and abstract machine model.
The document discusses architectural design in software engineering. It describes architectural design as identifying the major subsystems of a system and how they communicate and interface with each other. The output of architectural design is a description of the software architecture. The document outlines some key aspects of architectural design such as system structuring, control modeling, modular decomposition, and different architectural models. It also discusses common architectural styles like the repository model, client-server model, and abstract machine model.
The document discusses architectural design in software engineering. It describes architectural design as identifying the major subsystems of a system and how they communicate and interface with each other. The output of architectural design is a description of the software architecture. The document outlines some key aspects of architectural design such as system structuring, control modeling, modular decomposition, and different architectural models. It also discusses common architectural styles like the repository model, client-server model, and abstract machine model.
Software architecture The design process for identifying the sub- systems 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
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
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
Architectural models Different architectural models may be produced during the design process Each model presents different perspectives on the architecture
Types of 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
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
10.1.1 The repository model Sub-systems must exchange data. This may be done in two ways: • Shared data • Pass data explicitly When large amounts of data are to be shared, the repository model of sharing is most commonly used
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 • Integrating a new server may still experience problems – hard to anticipate interactions since interactions are almost assumed to not be an issue
10.1.3 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 sub- systems in different layers. Supports portability However, often difficult to structure systems in this way Performance can be an issue
10.2 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 system’s environment
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 – processes then can operate in parallel
10.3 Modular decomposition 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. If possible, decisions about concurrency should be delayed until modules are implemented
10.3.1 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
10.3.2 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. Advantages – shows sequence of operations Disadvantages - Not really suitable for interactive systems – event-driven systems are not that sequential
10.4 Domain-specific architectures Architectural models which are specific to some application domain Two types of domain-specific model • Generic models • Reference models Generic models are usually bottom-up models; Reference models are top-down models
10.4.1 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
10.4.2 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 Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model is a layered model for communication systems
