Название: Software Architectures: Topics Usually Missed in Textbooks
Автор: Manfred Nagl, Bernhard Westfechtel
Издательство: Springer
Год: 2024
Страниц: 344
Язык: английский
Формат: pdf (true)
Размер: 10.1 MB

This textbook concentrates on processes, activities and results related to Software Architectures. It describes the separation of architecture artefacts corresponding to their nature, their logical or their modeling level on one hand and at the same time emphasizes their integration based on their mutual relations. Design or development processes demand for integration, as different artifacts must be elaborated, which are mutually dependent and need to be in a consistent form.

The term Software Architecture tries to introduce a similar understanding in the field of software system construction. We see that by looking at the covers of many books on software architectures, which mostly contain a building or a fragment thereof on the cover page (a bridge, a cathedral, a part of the outer shell). The software architecture is the essential description in the whole development process for software, it fixes the most important decisions, it determines the long-term properties of the software, and it predetermines management, quality, and documentation of the process and the final product.

Architecture modeling is the most influential subprocess of software development or maintenance, and the software architecture is the key to all results of that process. Nevertheless, there are different approaches to software architectures, with respect to how to think, how to denote, and how to interrelate architectures with other results of the development process.

Surprisingly, there are topics, which are important for software architectures or their influence on the development process, which are not or not deeply enough discussed in software architecture textbooks. This statement applies to all software architecture books, irrespective, which approaches they follow. This finding led to this book and, more specifically, also to the title of this book.

Another topic is to relate software architectures to other activities and results in the development or maintenance process. Here we emphasize the central role of architectures and how this role implies strong connections and implications. The book is an architecture-centric book: It concentrates on architectures, but also discusses other activities and results, especially, if they are in a strong relation to the architecture.

The aim of this book is to discuss such topics. As these topics are usually missing in textbooks, the lecturer of a course on software architecture can decide, which chapter of this book he/she will take to the lecture. This can apply to one or more chapters. This applies to any software architecture approach. Especially, this characterizes the value of the book in the context of software architecture literature. The book does not claim to cover all such topics.