/*Architecture.txt*/
  1  Architecture
  2  ------------
  3  
  4  If one considers 'Requirements' to be the problem definition
  5  
  6      and 'Design/Implementation/Test' to be the solution space, 
  7  
  8         'Architecture' is the bridge between the two.
  9  
 10  You have already started your architecture with your Subsystem 
 11  Decomposition (as part of Subsystem Requirements).
 12  
 13  Architecture is the Blueprint for the system.  It is a key
 14  document for developers and for maintenance engineers.
 15  
 16  It provides the "technical structure" for the project.
 17  
 18  
 19  During the Architecture phase, the Architecture team partitions
 20  the system into major subsystems, specifies all of the interactions
 21  among subsystems and documents the the software's top-level technical
 22  plans.
 23  
 24  The team also addresses the major design issues that run throughout the
 25  system like error handling, memory management, data model.
 26  
 27  Usually a team denotes a single person as the "Lead Architect".  This 
 28  person ensures that all designs are consistent with the overall blueprint.
 29  
 30  
 31  What is included in an Architecture Document?
 32  
 33     -  Major Subsystems (usually between 5 & 9 subsystems)
 34         > responsibilities
 35         > preliminary list of modules & classes contained within each
 36         > inter-subsystem communication
 ** NEW ** UML Class Diagrams and Interaction Diagrams have been added to
    this deliverable due to the length of time allocated for this phase.  All
    subsystems should be depicted by a set of high-level classes.
    All communication should be shown using Interaction Diagrams.

    It is required that the CASE tool Together/J be used for this.

** END NEW **
 37         
 38     -  Areas that are likely to change
 39  
 40     -  Major technology
 41         > Identification of components which will be purchased
 42           commercially (buy vs. build)
 43         > Identification of tools (e.g., IDEs, Frameworks) that will
 44           be used
 45         > Reuse strategy
 46         > Programming language decisions
 47  
 48     -  System-wide conventions
 49         > Error handling strategy (e.g., error logging)
 50         > Memory management
 51         > Multithreading/multiprocessing strategy
 52         > Approach to distribution, networking
 53         > Internationalization/localization
 54         > Portability
            > ProblemML (or other system-wide expression/language)
 55  
 56     -  Major Design Decisions 
 57         > External software interfaces (e.g., Remote Procedure
 58             calls, message-passing)
 59         > Identification of major Data Structures and those
 60              passed across program interfaces  
 61         > Database Organization  (data model, content)
 62         > Data storage (major data structures, file formats)
 63         > Key algorithms
 64     
 65  
 66  The document needs to be written and controlled in a version-control 
 67  system.