Software Architecture

• Architecture defines major components
• Architecture defines component relationships (structures) and interactions
• Architecture omits content information about components that does not pertain to their interactions
• Behavior of components is a part of architecture insofar as it can be discerned from the point of view of another component
• Every system has an architecture (even a system composed of one component)
• Architecture defines the rationale behind the components and the structure
• Architecture definitions do not define what a component is
• Architecture is not a single structure - no single structure is the architecture
• Architecture represents the set of earliest design decisions those are Hardest to change and Most critical to get right
• Architecture is the first design artifact where a system’s quality attributes are addressed
• Architecture serves as the blueprint for the system
• Architecture establishes the communication and coordination mechanisms among components