1. A portfolio of software
architectural descriptions
Paolo Ciancarini

3. Agenda
• The visualization of software
architectures
• Basic architectures
• Reference architectures
• Middleware architectures
• Model-driven architectures

4. Goal of this lecture
• Show a number of practical, real examples
of software architectures
• Compare visualization styles
• Elicit (common) architectural patterns

5. Software architecture
• In most successful software projects, the developers
working on that project have a shared understanding of
the system design; this shared understanding is called
architecture .
• This understanding includes how the system is divided
into components and how the components interact
through interfaces. These components are usually
composed of smaller components, but the architecture
only includes the components and interfaces that are
understood by all the developers
Ralph Johnson

6. Software architecture
• The global organization of a software
system
• A software structure decomposable in
subsystems
– Define their interfaces
– Define how they interact

7. Software architects
Bill Gates, CSA Microsoft till 2006 Ray Ozzie, CSA MS 2006-2010 Kevin Lynch, CSA Adobe
Nora Denzel, former CSA HP
Vishal Sikka, CSA SAP Don Ferguson, former CSA IBM

8. The role of the Software Architect
• The role of the software architect involves
not just technical activities, but others that
are more political and strategic in nature,
and more like those of a consultant
• Not all good technologists have the skills
that make them good architects
• The best architects are good technologists,
that command respect in the technical
community, but also are good strategists,
organizational politicians and leaders
8

9. A (useless) SA description
• Ci sono 4 elementi, che sono
connessi in qualche modo, i tre
in basso hanno qualcosa in Control
Process
comune
(CP)
• Natura degli elementi?
• Loro responsabilità?
• Significato delle connessioni?
• Significato della struttura?
Loss Reverb Noise
Model Model Model
(MODP) (MODR) (MODN)

10. A portfolio
• The following pictures are taken from the Web
• I used queries related to the concept of
software architecture of typical software
systems, like editors, compilers, operating
systems, software tools
• They are examples of our main topic
• Ask yourself: what do I see?

11. Editor

12. Expert system

13. Mathematica

14. JVM

15. Applet architecture

16. J2EE

17. Tomcat

18. JINI
architectural
example

19. A game engine dundee.cs.queensu.ca/wiki/index.php/CAX_Game_Architecture

20. Classic Unix

21. Monolithic vs
microkernel

22. Linux

23. Windows NT

24. Minix

25. Windows 95
and 98

26. Windows 2000

27. Windows XP
Win 32-bit Win 32-bit Win 32-bit Win 32-bit
App App App App
Win32
Subsytem
(Win32 API)
User Mode
Kernel Mode
Executive Services
Security Virtual Plug and Window
I/O IPC Process Power
Reference Memory Play Manager
Manager Manager Manager Manager
Monitor Manager Manager and GDI
Object Manager Graphics
File
Device
Systems
Device Drivers Microkernel Drivers
Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)
Computer Hardware

28. MS Windows Vista

29. MS Office

30. MS Office: structure of documents
MS Word MS Powerpoint

31. Mac OS

32. Symbian

33. Android

34. Data Distribution Service

35. Content Delivery Network

36. Eclipse

37. X Windows

38. Mozilla + Gecko

39. Flock browser

40. MS
Exchange
(email)
Server

41. Spam Firewall Architecture

42. Apache server

43. Concurrency on Apache Unix

44. MVC style architectures

45. MS Silverlight

46. Adobe AIR

47. Ruby on Rails

48. AJAX intreraction style

49. Search
architecture

50. Google

51. CORBA

52. J2EE

53. J2EE operating environment

54. Java web application

55. JBoss
application
server

56. Web services architecture

57. Grid-like
architecture

58. SOA

59. SOA

60. Amazon
SOA

61. IBM WebSphere

62. DRM
architecture

63. Business architecture

64. MS BizTalk

65. Social network
architecture

66. What is a software architecture?
• An architecture defines structure
• An architecture defines behavior
• An architecture focuses on significant elements
• An architecture balances stakeholders needs
• An architecture conforms to an architectural style
• An architecture is influenced by its environment
• An architecture influences its environment
• An architecture influences its development team
structure

67. Architectures and entities
The definition of a business entity is one of
the most difficult things in the software
architecture world. The problem that we
have is this combination of words
business and entity , the first depicts
something very complicated and the second
states for something simple – so we are
trying to define something like complicated-
simplicity …
Adam Boczek

68. Self test questions
• What do these representations have in
common?
• Do they focus more on the structure or on the
behavior of software architectures?
• Which analyses, reasoning and evaluations are
possible on these pictures?
• Would it be possible to have a uniform
architectural representation model?
• Have you recognized patterns or styles?
• Can you imagine architectural alternatives?

69. Readings
• www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/rational/library/feb06/
eeles/index.html!
• www.dehats.com/drupal/?q=node/32!
• la.sei.cmu.edu/sad-wiki/index.php/High_Level_Module_View
!

70. Questions?