What is Software Architecture? Explained in Detail

For developing an innovative and eminent software that seamlessly solves problems for end users, a strong foundation is necessary. In the software league, the term ‘software’ holds great importance. It's by far the most crucial part of the system. This brings us to the question - What is Software Architecture? 

To begin with, Software Architecture is a huge part of our daily lives. Starting from scrolling through smartphones to receiving crucial mail, it is all dependent on this architecture. Every small or big task on applications that look simple to the users is dependent on a complex architecture. 

The overall abstraction that makes the software product very user-friendly is the ulterior motive of good software. To learn more about how applications can be enhanced, read this blog. In this blog, you will learn everything about Software Architecture, all its different components, importance and drawbacks. 

Table of Contents 

1) What is Software Architecture? 

2) Objectives of Software Architecture  

3) SOLID principles of Software Architecture 

4) Importance of Software Architecture  

5) Drawbacks of Software Architecture 

6) Conclusion 

What is Software Architecture? 

Software Architecture refers to the skeleton of the software system, the optimal level of framework. It significantly impacts the quality of code, workflow, and level of ease for development and deployment. You can think of it as a bunch of fundamental compounds bound together to form the bedrock of the Software system. 

Software Architecture is primarily based on a set of most important decisions for Software Development. Each of these decisions impacts the overall success and performance of the final product. These decisions comprise the following: 

1) Selecting structural components and their interfaces 

2) Behavioural traits during collaboration between the chosen components 

3) Composition of the components in the large subsystem 

4) Architectural alignment with business objectives 

Software Architecture is often referred to as the blueprint of an actual system. It includes different contributory factors – design, IT environment, human dynamics, quality attributes, and business strategy. Architecture is responsible for all nonfunctional decisions cast and separated by the functional requirements. 

Many believe that software design and architecture are different; however, fundamentally, they are the same. Software design is one of the initial phases of the Software Development Cycle (SDLC). 

Software Architecture is the plan that constrains Software system design to avoid mistakes. It helps achieve technological and business strategies. To sum it up, “how” the Software gets built is Software design, and “what” is being built is Software Architecture.
 

Objectives of Software Architecture 

The primary objective of Software Architecture is to identify requirements that affect the application's structure. A well-built Architecture reduces business risks associated with building technical solutions. It acts as a bridge between technical and business requirements. The other objectives include the following:  

1) Exposing the structure of the Software system  

2) Keeping the structure’s implementation details under cover  

3) Register all use-cases and scenarios  

4) To select quality attributes to be optimised for the system 

5) Reduces development costs 

6) Improve product’s market position 

7) Improve quality and productivity offered by the system 

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SOLID principles of Software Architecture 

Single Responsibility, Open-Closed, Liskov Substitution, Interface Segregation, Dependency Inversion, or simply – SOLID is a set of popular principles used in object-oriented Software Development. SOLID is an acronym for the five key architectural principles. It is followed to avoid mistakes during the formulation of product strategy. A Software Architecture must adhere to these principles in order to avoid any developmental failure: 

Single Responsibility  

The Single Responsibility principle is technical. It states that a class should have one and only one reason to change, meaning that a class should have only one job. To simplify, only one change in the software identification should affect the class specification of the data container (class), as many different teams work on the same project and edit it for different reasons, making the modules incompatible. Thus, Single Responsibility is important because it makes version control easier. 

Open-Closed principle 

The Open-Closed principle states that objects or entities should be open for extension but closed for modification. Here, modification refers to changing the code of an existing data container. This principle describes that you can add new functionality without altering any of the existing code.  

Liskov Substitution principle  

Liskov's Substitution principle states that subclasses should be substitutable for their base class. This means independent services, or subclass, should be able to substitute the base or parent class. 

Interface Segregation principle 

As the name suggests, Interface Segregation is about separating the interfaces. This principle states that several client specific interfaces are better than one general purpose interface. It means that software should be divided into microservices and there should not be any redundancies.  

Dependency Inversion principle 

The Dependency Inversion principle states that classes should depend on interfaces instead of concrete classes and functions. Higher level modules should not be dependent on low or lower-level modules and similarly change in the higher level should not have effect on the lower level. 

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Importance of Software Architecture 

Software Architecture falls under the design phase of the SDLC, one of the initial stages of the Software Development process. Without Software Architecture, the development process is close to zero. Being one of the most important parts of SDLC, from technical and developmental point of view, the following reasons are why Software Architecture is of great importance: 

1) Responsible for selecting quality attributes to optimise a system 

2) Expedite early prompt  

3) A clear platform to build on 

4) Streamlining code 

5) Faster product launch 

6) Additional security checks and risk management  

Drawbacks of Software Architecture 

With all its glory, Software Architecture is still an emerging discipline within the domain of Software Engineering. Hence, it also comes with the following drawbacks: 

1) It is not suitable for interactive applications after output is obtained after a series of transformation 

2) Components, if not designed independently, it might lead to tight data coupling  

3) Extra tools or filters might be needed to make independent components compatible with each other 

4) Lack of understanding of the design process, experience and evaluation 

5) Methods are not suitable for analysis to predict if the implementation of the architecture meets the requirement 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, Software Architecture is the fundamental of an effective Software framework that maintains quality of the product. It is responsible for making user interface easy and management effortless. It is both time saving and cost effective if practiced properly and with proper knowledge. 

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