INTRODUCTION – Software Architecture, Design, And Patterns
This module discusses the imperatives of an enterprise software development program. Lesson 1 introduces you to the thought of software architecture and the reason behind carefully architecting design. It gives you an idea of the design process including models that are structural and behavioral and how to generate UML diagrams to show the software’s structure and behavior to the team effectively.
You will also focus on OOAD. Lesson 2 shows an array of architectural patterns and a hands-on activity through which the architectural design process is realized. Finally, you encounter the software environment for production and some key components required for deployment.
Learning Objectives:
- Define what software architecture is and its importance.
- Compare and contrast structural design and behavioral models, and discuss how UML diagrams aid to communication structure and behavior.
- Explain the principles of object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD).
- Describe component-based and service-oriented architecture as well as the natures of distributed systems.
- Differentiate between the 2-tier, 3-tier, and peer-to-peer architectures, event-driven and microservices architectural patterns with examples for each.
- Understand the difference between production and pre-production environments.
- Identify the components generally required in a production environment.
- Recognize diagrams of architectural patterns from their descriptions.
PRACTICE QUIZ: SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
1. Which of the following best describes software architecture?
- The choice of technology stack drives the software architecture.
- It is intended for the developers only.
- It serves as a blueprint for the developers. (CORRECT)
- It captures implementation details.
Correct: A software architecture is a blueprint for the software system, which guides the programmers in developing the interacting components of the software.
2. Which of the following should be included in the software design document (SDD)?
- Object definitions
- Code
- Constraints and dependencies (CORRECT)
- Test cases
Correct: The SDD is intended to include things such as assumptions, dependencies, constraints, requirements, objectives, and methodologies.
3. Components in a well-structured design should be ___________________.
- tightly coupled
- tightly constrained
- loosely cohesive
- loosely coupled (CORRECT)
Correct: The components in a good design should exhibit low coupling and high cohesion.
4. Which of the following is an advantage of using UML diagrams when designing software architecture?
- They help plan out structures and behaviors in advance of coding.
- They help facilitate communication among team members.
- They help developers navigate source code.
- All of the above (CORRECT)
Correct: Using UML diagrams in developing enables the developer to source code navigation, communication among team members, and the structural and behavioral planning before coding starts.
Get a read on your analytical skills
5. What is the blueprint of an object called?
- An instance
- A class (CORRECT)
- A method
- A property
Correct: A class is the blueprint or template of an object and lays down the behaviors or methods, and data or attributes of which an object can have.
PRACTICE QUIZ: SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE PATTERNS AND DEPLOYMENT TOPOLOGIES
1. Which of the following is a characteristic of a distributed system?
- It contains multiple services that coordinate interactions using a communication protocol such as HTTP. (CORRECT)
- It is an individual unit of encapsulated functionality.
- It is an interface for a database.
- It focuses on the decomposition of a design into logical components.
Correct: This is a characteristic of distributed systems.
2. Which term is best described by the statement, “entails the ability to add behavior to a component without changing other components?”
- Reusable
- Extensibility (CORRECT)
- Independent
- Encapsulation
Correct: Adding new behavior to a component without altering other components is called extensibility.
3. True or false? A software application’s architecture can be designed as both peer-to-peer and event-driven.
- True (CORRECT)
- False
Correct: ]. Peer-to-peer architecture and event-driven architecture are not mutually exclusive and can, thus, be coordinated within the same systems for use in complementary fashion.
4. Which of the following best describes a staging environment?
- It is for the QA team to test the application’s individual components.
- It is intended for the developers to use while they are actively coding the application.
- It replicates the production environment, but is not intended for general users. (CORRECT)
- It is intended for general users.
Correct: It is a staging environment that reflects the production environment but which is not intended for use by regular end-users; only testing and validation are done in it for predeployment purposes.
5. What does the production environment take into account that pre-production environments do not?
- Load (CORRECT)
- Functional requirements
- Permissions
- Buggy code
Correct: A pre-production environment is intended for limited numbers of users and generally does not have to take full production load into consideration, as it is mostly utilized for testing and validation closer to release.
QUIZ: SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN, AND DEPLOYMENT TOPOLOGIES
1.Which of the following best describes software architecture?
- The choice of technology stack drives the software architecture.
- It represents the earliest design decisions. (CORRECT)
- It describes how the application should be coded.
- It captures implementation details.
Correct: The software architecture decisions reflect the early design decisions that form the basis on which the entire system is constructed and operated.
2. Which of the following are artifacts that result from designing the software architecture?
- UML diagrams (CORRECT)
- Software requirements specification (SRS)
- Test cases
- Administrator user guide
Correct: During the software architecture design, UML diagrams are typically created to illustrate the layout of the system, its components, and its behavior.
3. Components in a well-structured design should be ___________________.
- loosely constrained
- loosely cohesive
- tightly cohesive (CORRECT)
- tightly coupled
Correct: Elements contained in a good modular scheme should, as far as practicable, exhibit a high degree of cohesion, that is, they should be intensely focused on a single task; and they should, on the other hand, be loosely coupled- independent and interacting minimally with other components in well-defined ways.
4. Which of the following is an advantage of using UML diagrams when designing software architecture?
- They describe which parameters should be passed when instantiating an object.
- They explain which methods should be included when coding an object.
- They all use JavaScript.
- They serve to bring new team members up to speed quickly. (CORRECT)
Correct: A UML diagram provides a visual display of a software’s design and serves in fast training of newly joined members of the team on project requirements by showing the structure and behavior of the system.
5. Which of the following best describes encapsulation?
- A component’s design so it doesn’t have dependencies on other components.
- A component should be easily replaced with another component.
- Designing a component so it operates in different environments.
- Bundling data and methods to hide an internal state, so a component’s specific implementation is not exposed. (CORRECT)
Correct: This is the definition of encapsulation. In addition, encapsulation states the fact that data and methods that apply on data can be combined as a single unit known as class and also restricts access to some of the components of the object in order to maintain the integrity of the component.
6. Which of the following best describes a service?
- It is a type of object.
- A service defines, composes, and implements loosely coupled independent components so they work together to create an application.
- A unit of functionality that focuses on a solution to a business need, is deployed independently, and is reused by multiple systems. (CORRECT)
- A focus on the decomposition of a design into logical components.
Correct: Certainly! Just tell me the details of the service that you want me to rephrase.
7. Which statement is true regarding a 2-tier architecture?
- The interface resides on client machines and makes requests to a server for data or services. (CORRECT)
- The two different tiers are the application tier and the data tier.
- A 2-tier architecture consists of a decentralized network of nodes that are both clients and servers.
- A 2-tier architecture consists of producers and consumers of events.
Correct: With this particular system, the interface arrangement lies on the client system and sends requests to the server for acquiring the desired data or services within a 2-tier architecture.
8. Which of the following architecture patterns are mutually exclusive?
- Microservices and event-driven
- Peer-to-peer and two-tier (CORRECT)
- Peer-to-peer and event-driven
- Three-tier and microservices
Correct: Peer-to-peer architecture, in general, enables each node to function as client and server. On the other hand, a two-tier architecture corresponds to a communication between clients and servers on different machines.
9. Which of the following environments is intended for developers to use while they are actively coding the application?
- QA
- Production
- Staging
- Development (CORRECT)
Correct: The developing atmosphere is meant for those programmers going through the stage of coding at the time of developing an application.
10. Which of the following is a security device that monitors traffic between an internal and an external network?
- Firewall (CORRECT)
- Router
- Load balancer
- Web server
Correct: It is a protective device that monitors and restricts communication between an internal as well as an external network.
CONCLUSION – Software Architecture, Design, And Patterns
Thus, this module will prepare you for the beginning of enterprise software development, discussing the basics. When you understand what entails good software architecture and the process of design-from structural design to behavioral models- then you are ready to develop UML diagrams that describe the structure and behavior of the software system in a clear manner. Also, Object Oriented Analysis and Designing will cultivate your design talent on a wider scale. This will also better bridge theory and practice for you in the sense of Lesson 2 hands-on activity with architectural design patterns.
Understanding the environment that supports your software production as well as its critical components required by a deployment will make it easy for you to bear the brunt of real-world software development and deployment challenges. This is your web of knowledge and skill necessary for a successful enterprise software development process.