Introduction to Software
Engineering |
Lecture 6 – Architectural
Design |
Topics
covered
· Architectural
design decisions
· Architectural
views
· Architectural
patterns
· Application
architectures
Software architecture
o The design process for identifying the sub-systems
making up a system and the framework for sub-system control and communication
is architectural
design.
o The output of this design process is a description
of the software
architecture.
Architectural design
o An early stage of the system design process.
o Represents the link between specification and
design processes.
o Often carried out in parallel with some
specification activities.
o It involves identifying major system components and
their communications.
The
architecture of a packing robot control system
Architectural
abstraction
· Architecture
in the small is concerned with the architecture of individual
programs. At this level, we are concerned with the way that an individual
program is decomposed into components.
· Architecture
in the large is concerned with the architecture of complex
enterprise systems that include other systems, programs, and program
components. These enterprise systems are distributed over different computers,
which may be owned and managed by different companies.
Advantages of explicit
architecture
·
Stakeholder communication
§ Architecture may be used as
a focus of discussion by system stakeholders.
·
System analysis
§ Means that analysis of
whether the system can meet its non-functional requirements is possible.
·
Large-scale reuse
§ The architecture may be
reusable across a range of systems
§ Product-line architectures
may be developed.
Architectural
representations
· Simple,
informal block diagrams showing entities and relationships are the most
frequently used method for documenting software architectures.
· But
these have been criticised because they lack
semantics, do not show the types of relationships between entities nor the
visible properties of entities in the architecture.
· Depends
on the use of architectural models.The requirements for
model semantics depends on how the models are used.
Box
and line diagrams
o Very
abstract - they do not show the nature of component relationships nor the externally visible properties of the sub-systems.
o However,
useful for communication with stakeholders and for project planning.
Use
of architectural models
·
As a way of facilitating discussion about the
system design
§
A high-level architectural view of a system is
useful for communication with system stakeholders and project planning because
it is not cluttered with detail. Stakeholders can relate to it and understand
an abstract view of the system. They can then discuss the system as a whole
without being confused by detail.
·
As a way of documenting an architecture that has
been designed
§
The aim here is to produce a complete system model
that shows the different components in a system, their interfaces and their
connections.
Architectural
design decisions
· Architectural
design is a creative process so the process differs depending on the type of
system being developed.
· However,
a number of common decisions span all design processes and these decisions
affect the non-functional characteristics of the system.
· Questions:
o Is
there a generic application architecture that can be used?
o How
will the system be distributed?
o What
architectural styles are appropriate?
o What
approach will be used to structure the system?
o How
will the system be decomposed into modules?
o What
control strategy should be used?
o How
will the architectural design be evaluated?
o How
should the architecture be documented?
Architecture
reuse
o Systems
in the same domain often have similar architectures that reflect domain
concepts.
o Application
product lines are built around a core architecture
with variants that satisfy particular customer requirements.
o The
architecture of a system may be designed around one of more architectural
patterns or ‘styles’.
·
These capture the essence of an
architecture and can be instantiated in different ways.
Architecture
and system characteristics
·
Performance
§ Localize critical operations and minimize
communications. Use large rather than fine-grain components.
·
Security
§ Use a layered architecture with critical assets in
the inner layers.
·
Safety
§ Localise
safety-critical features in a small number of sub-systems.
·
Availability
§ Include redundant components and mechanisms for
fault tolerance.
·
Maintainability
§ Use fine-grain, replaceable components.
Architectural
views
·
What views or perspectives are useful when
designing and documenting a system’s architecture?
·
What notations should be used for describing
architectural models?
·
Each architectural model only shows one view or
perspective of the system.
§
It might show how a system is decomposed into
modules, how the run-time processes interact or the different ways in which
system components are distributed across a network. For both design and
documentation, you usually need to present multiple views of the software
architecture.
4 +
1 view model of software architecture
· A
logical view, which shows the key abstractions in the system as objects or
object classes.
· A
process view, which shows how, at run-time, the system
is composed of interacting processes.
· A
development view, which shows how the software is decomposed for development.
· A
physical view, which shows the system hardware and how software components are
distributed across the processors in the system.
· Related
using use cases or scenarios (+1)
Architectural
patterns
· Patterns
are a means of representing, sharing and reusing knowledge.
· An
architectural pattern is a stylized description of good design practice, which
has been tried and tested in different environments.
· Patterns
should include information about when they are and when they are not useful.
· Patterns
may be represented using tabular and graphical descriptions.
The
Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern
Name |
MVC
(Model-View-Controller) |
Description |
Separates presentation and interaction from the
system data. The system is structured into three logical components that
interact with each other. The Model component manages the system data and
associated operations on that data. The View component defines and manages
how the data is presented to the user. The Controller component manages user
interaction (e.g., key presses, mouse clicks, etc.) and passes these
interactions to the View and the Model. See Figure below. |
Example |
Second figure below shows the architecture of a
web-based application system organized using the MVC pattern. |
When used |
Used when there are multiple ways to view and
interact with data. Also used when the future requirements for interaction
and presentation of data are unknown. |
Advantages |
Allows the data to change independently of its
representation and vice versa. Supports presentation of the same data in
different ways with changes made in one representation shown in all of them. |
Disadvantages |
Can involve additional code and code complexity
when the data model and interactions are simple. |
The
organization of the Model-View-Controller
Web
application architecture using the MVC pattern
Layered architecture
· 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. When a layer interface changes, only the adjacent layer is
affected.
· However, often artificial to structure systems in
this way.
The
Layered architecture pattern
Name |
Layered architecture |
Description |
Organizes the system into layers with related
functionality associated with each layer. A layer provides services to the
layer above it so the lowest-level layers represent core services that are
likely to be used throughout the system. See figure below. |
Example |
A layered model of a system for sharing copyright
documents held in different libraries, as shown in second figure below. |
When used |
Used when building new facilities on top of
existing systems; when the development is spread across several teams with
each team responsibility for a layer of functionality; when there is a
requirement for multi-level security. |
Advantages |
Allows replacement of entire layers so long as
the interface is maintained. Redundant facilities (e.g., authentication) can
be provided in each layer to increase the dependability of the system. |
Disadvantages |
In practice, providing a clean separation between layers is often
difficult and a high-level layer may have to interact directly with
lower-level layers rather than through the layer immediately below it.
Performance can be a problem because of multiple levels of interpretation of
a service request as it is processed at each layer. |
A
generic layered architecture
The
architecture of the LIBSYS system
Key
points
· A software architecture
is a description of how a software system is organized.
· Architectural
design decisions include decisions on the type of application, the distribution
of the system, the architectural styles to be used.
· Architectures
may be documented from several different perspectives or viewssuch
as a conceptual view, a logical view, a process view, and a development view.
· Architectural
patterns are a means of reusing knowledge about generic system architectures.
They describe the architecture, explain when it may be used and describe its
advantages and disadvantages.
Repository architecture
o 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.
o When large amounts of data
are to be shared, the repository model of sharing is most commonly used a this is an efficient data sharing mechanism.
The
Repository pattern
Name |
Repository |
Description |
All data in a system is managed in a central
repository that is accessible to all system components. Components do not
interact directly, only through the repository. |
Example |
Figure 6.9 is an example of an IDE where the
components use a repository of system design information. Each software tool
generates information which is then available for use by other tools. |
When used |
You should use this pattern when you have a
system in which large volumes of information are generated that has to be
stored for a long time. You may also use it in data-driven systems where the
inclusion of data in the repository triggers an action or tool. |
Advantages |
Components can be independent—they do not need to
know of the existence of other components. Changes made by one component can
be propagated to all components. All data can be managed consistently (e.g.,
backups done at the same time) as it is all in one place. |
Disadvantages |
The repository is a single point of failure so
problems in the repository affect the whole system. May be inefficiencies in
organizing all communication through the repository. Distributing the
repository across several computers may be difficult. |
A repository architecture for an IDE
Client-server architecture
·
Distributed system model which shows how data and processing is
distributed across a range of components.
§ Can be implemented on a
single computer.
·
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.
The
Client–server pattern
Name |
Client-server |
Description |
In a client–server
architecture, the functionality of the system is organized into services,
with each service delivered from a separate server. Clients are users of
these services and access servers to make use of them. |
Example |
Figure 6.11 is an example of a film and video/DVD
library organized as a client–server system. |
When used |
Used when data in a shared database has to be
accessed from a range of locations. Because servers can be replicated, may
also be used when the load on a system is variable. |
Advantages |
The principal advantage of this model is that
servers can be distributed across a network. General functionality (e.g., a
printing service) can be available to all clients and does not need to be
implemented by all services. |
Disadvantages |
Each service is a single point of failure so
susceptible to denial of service attacks or server failure. Performance may
be unpredictable because it depends on the network as well as the system. May
be management problems if servers are owned by different organizations. |
A client–server architecture for a film
library
Pipe and filter architecture
·
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.
The
pipe and filter pattern
Name |
Pipe and filter |
Description |
The processing of the data in a system is
organized so that each processing component (filter) is discrete and carries
out one type of data transformation. The data flows (as in a pipe) from one
component to another for processing. |
Example |
Figure 6.13 is an example of a pipe and filter
system used for processing invoices. |
When used |
Commonly used in data processing applications
(both batch- and transaction-based) where inputs are processed in separate
stages to generate related outputs. |
Advantages |
Easy to understand and supports transformation
reuse. Workflow style matches the structure of many business processes.
Evolution by adding transformations is straightforward. Can be implemented as
either a sequential or concurrent system. |
Disadvantages |
The format for data transfer has to be agreed
upon between communicating transformations. Each transformation must parse
its input and unparse its output to the agreed
form. This increases system overhead and may mean that it is impossible to
reuse functional transformations that use incompatible data structures. |
An
example of the pipe and filter architecture
Application
architectures
· Application
systems are designed to meet an organisational need.
· As
businesses have much in common, their application systems also tend to have a
common architecture that reflects the application requirements.
· A generic application
architecture is an architecture for a type of software system that may be
configured and adapted to create a system that meets specific requirements.
Use
of application architectures
·
As a starting
point for architectural design.
·
As a design
checklist.
·
As a way of organizing
the work of the development team.
·
As a means of
assessing components for reuse.
·
As a
vocabulary for talking about application types.
Examples
of application types
·
Data processing applications
§
Data driven applications that process data in
batches without explicit user intervention during the processing.
·
Transaction processing applications
§
Data-centred applications
that process user requests and update information in a system database.
·
Event processing systems
§
Applications where system actions depend on
interpreting events from the system’s environment.
·
Language processing systems
§
Applications where the users’ intentions are
specified in a formal language that is processed and interpreted by the system.
Application
type examples
·
Focus here is
on transaction processing and language processing systems.
·
Transaction
processing systems
§ E-commerce systems;
§ Reservation systems.
·
Language
processing systems
§ Compilers;
§ Command interpreters.
Transaction
processing systems
·
Process user
requests for information from a database or requests to update the database.
·
From a user
perspective a transaction is:
§ Any coherent sequence of operations that satisfies a
goal;
§ For example - find the times of flights from London
to Paris.
·
Users make
asynchronous requests for service which are then processed by a transaction
manager.
The
structure of transaction processing applications
The
software architecture of an ATM system
Information
systems architecture
·
Information systems have a generic architecture
that can be organised as a layered architecture.
·
These are transaction-based systems as interaction
with these systems generally involves database transactions.
·
Layers include:
§
The user interface
§
User communications
§
Information retrieval
§
System database
Layered
information system architecture
The
architecture of the MHC-PMS
Web-based
information systems
· Information
and resource management systems are now usually web-based systems where the
user interfaces are implemented using a web browser.
· For
example, e-commerce systems are Internet-based resource management systems that
accept electronic orders for goods or services and then arrange delivery of
these goods or services to the customer.
· In
an e-commerce system, the application-specific layer includes additional
functionality supporting a ‘shopping cart’ in which users can place a number of
items in separate transactions, then pay for them all together in a single
transaction.
Server
implementation
These systems
are often implemented as multi-tier client server/
·
The web server is responsible for all user
communications, with the user interface implemented using a web browser;
·
The application server is responsible for
implementing application-specific logic as well as information storage and
retrieval requests;
·
The database server moves information to and from
the database and handles transaction management.
Language
processing systems
o Accept
a natural or artificial language as input and generate some other
representation of that language.
o May
include an interpreter to act on the instructions in the language that is being
processed.
o Used
in situations where the easiest way to solve a problem is to describe an
algorithm or describe the system data
·
Meta-case tools process tool descriptions, method
rules, etc and generate tools.
The
architecture of a language processing system
Compiler
components
· A
lexical analyzer, which takes input language tokens and converts them to an
internal form.
· A
symbol table, which holds information about the names of entities (variables,
class names, object names, etc.) used in the text that is being translated.
· A
syntax analyzer, which checks the syntax of the language being translated.
· A
syntax tree, which is an internal structure representing the program being
compiled.
· A
semantic analyzer that uses information from the syntax tree and the symbol
table to check the semantic correctness of the input language text.
· A
code generator that ‘walks’ the syntax tree and generates abstract machine
code.
A
pipe and filter compiler architecture
A repository architecture for a
language processing system
Key
points
· Models
of application systems architectures help us understand and compare
applications, validate application system designs and assess large-scale
components for reuse.
· Transaction
processing systems are interactive systems that allow information in a database
to be remotely accessed and modified by a number of users.
· Language
processing systems are used to translate texts from one language into another
and to carry out the instructions specified in the input language. They include
a translator and an abstract machine that executes the generated language.