Defining the structure of a system
At its core, software development is about creating and managing complex systems.
In the early days of computing, programs were relatively simple. At most, they perhaps could calculate a parabolic trajectory or factorize numbers. The very first computer program, designed in 1843 by Ada Lovelace, calculated a sequence of Bernoulli numbers. A hundred years after that, during the Second World War, electronic computers were invented to break encryption codes. As the possibilities of the new invention started to be explored, more and more complex operations and systems were designed. Tools like compilers and high-level languages multiplied the number of possibilities and the rapid advancement of hardware allowed more and more operations to be performed. This quickly created a need to manage the growing complexity and apply consistent engineering principles to the creation of software.
More than 50 years after the birth of the computing industry, the software tools at our disposal are incredibly varied and powerful. We stand on the shoulders of giants to build our own software. We can quickly add a lot of functionalities with relatively little effort, either leveraging high-level languages and APIs or using out-of-the-box modules and packages. With this great power comes the great responsibility of managing the explosion of complexity that it produces.
In the most simple terms, software architecture defines the structure of a software system. This architecture can develop organically, usually in the early stages of a project, but after system growth and a few change requests, the need to think carefully about the architecture becomes more and more important. As the system becomes bigger, the structure becomes more difficult to change, which affects future efforts. It's easier to make changes following the structure rather than against the structure.
Making it so that certain changes are difficult to do is not necessarily always a bad thing. Changes that should be made difficult could involve elements that need to be overseen by different teams or perhaps elements that can affect external customers. While the main focus is to create a system that's easy and efficient to change in the future, a smart architectural design will have a proper balance of ease and difficulty based on the requirements. Later in the chapter, we will study security as a clear example of when to keep certain operations difficult to implement.
At the core of software architecture, then, is taking a look at the big picture: to focus on where the system is going to be in the future, to be able to materialize this view, but also to help the present situation. The usual choice between short-term wins and long-term operation is very important in development, and its most common outcome is the creation of technical debt. Software architecture deals mostly with long-term implications.
The considerations for software architecture can be quite numerous and there needs to be a balance between them. Some examples may include:
- Business vision, if the system is going to be commercially exploited. This may include requirements coming from stakeholders like marketing, sales, or management. Business vision is typically driven by customers.
- Technical requirements, like being sure that the system is scalable and can handle a certain number of users, or that the system is fast enough for its use case. A news website requires different update times than a real-time trading system.
- Security and reliability concerns, the seriousness of which depends on how risky or critical the application and the data stored are.
- Division of tasks, to allow multiple teams, perhaps specialized in different areas, to work in a flexible way at the same time on the same system. As systems grow, the need to divide them into semi-autonomous, smaller components becomes more pressing. Small projects may live longer with a "single-block" or monolithic approach.
- Use specific technologies, for example, to allow integration with other systems or leverage the existing knowledge in the team.
These considerations will influence the structure and design of a system. In a sense, the software architect is responsible for implementing the application vision and matching it with the specific technologies and teams that will develop it. That makes the software architect an important intermediary between the business teams and the technology teams, as well as between the different technology teams. Communication is a critical aspect of the job.
To enable successful communication, a good architecture should define boundaries between the different aspects and assign clear responsibilities. The software architect should, in addition to defining clear boundaries, facilitate the creation of interface channels between the system components and follow up on the implementation details.
Ideally, the architectural design should happen at the beginning of system design, with a well thought-out design based on the requirements for the project. This is the general approach in this book because it's the best way to explain the different options and techniques. But it's not the most common use case in real life.
One of the main challenges for a software architect is working with existing systems that need to be adapted, making incremental approaches toward a better system, all while not interrupting the normal daily operation that keeps the business running.