Introduction: The software needs the architectural design to represents the
design of software. IEEE defines architectural design as “the process of
defining a collection of hardware and software components and their interfaces
to establish the framework for the development of a computer system.” The
software that is built for computer-based systems can exhibit one of these many
architectural styles.
Each style will describe a system category that consists of :
A set of components(eg: a database, computational modules) that will
perform a function required by the system.
The set of connectors will help in coordination, communication, and
cooperation between the components.
Conditions that how components can be integrated to form the system.
Semantic models that help the designer to understand the overall properties
of the system.
The use of architectural styles is to establish a structure for all the components
of the system.
Taxonomy of Architectural styles:
1] Data centered architectures:
A data store will reside at the center of this architecture and is accessed
frequently by the other components that update, add, delete or modify the
data present within the store.
The figure illustrates a typical data centered style. The client software
access a central repository. Variation of this approach are used to transform
the repository into a blackboard when data related to client or data of interest
for the client change the notifications to client software.
This data-centered architecture will promote integrability. This means that
the existing components can be changed and new client components can be
added to the architecture without the permission or concern of other clients.
Data can be passed among clients using blackboard mechanism.
Advantage of Data centered architecture
Repository of data is independent of clients
Client work independent of each other
It may be simple to add additional clients.
Modification can be very easy
Data centered architecture
2] Data flow architectures:
This kind of architecture is used when input data is transformed into output
data through a series of computational manipulative components.
The figure represents pipe-and-filter architecture since it uses both pipe and
filter and it has a set of components called filters connected by lines.
Pipes are used to transmitting data from one component to the next.
Each filter will work independently and is designed to take data input of a
certain form and produces data output to the next filter of a specified form.
The filters don’t require any knowledge of the working of neighboring filters.
If the data flow degenerates into a single line of transforms, then it is termed
as batch sequential. This structure accepts the batch of data and then
applies a series of sequential components to transform it.
Advantages of Data Flow architecture
It encourages upkeep, repurposing, and modification.
With this design, concurrent execution is supported.
The disadvantage of Data Flow architecture
It frequently degenerates to batch sequential system
Data flow architecture does not allow applications that require greater user
engagement.
It is not easy to coordinate two different but related streams
Data Flow architecture
3] Call and Return architectures: It is used to create a program that is
easy to scale and modify. Many sub-styles exist within this category. Two of
them are explained below.
Remote procedure call architecture: This components is used to present
in a main program or sub program architecture distributed among multiple
computers on a network.
Main program or Subprogram architectures: The main program structure
decomposes into number of subprograms or function into a control
hierarchy. Main program contains number of subprograms that can invoke
other components.
4] Object Oriented architecture: The components of a system
encapsulate data and the operations that must be applied to manipulate the
data. The coordination and communication between the components are
established via the message passing.
Characteristics of Object Oriented architecture
Object protect the system’s integrity.
An object is unaware of the depiction of other items.
Advantage of Object Oriented architecture
It enables the designer to separate a challenge into a collection of
autonomous objects.
Other objects are aware of the implementation details of the object, allowing
changes to be made without having an impact on other objects.
5] Layered architecture:
A number of different layers are defined with each layer performing a well-
defined set of operations. Each layer will do some operations that becomes
closer to machine instruction set progressively.
At the outer layer, components will receive the user interface operations and
at the inner layers, components will perform the operating system
interfacing(communication and coordination with OS)
Intermediate layers to utility services and application software functions.
One common example of this architectural style is OSI-ISO (Open Systems
Interconnection-International Organisation for Standardisation)
communication system.
