There are some very nice discussions regarding the psychology of design, thinking methods and definitions and types of architecture in the "Art of Software Architecture" book. Although the author has used the word "Art" in the title, there are very interesting points in the book indicating why the process of design and architecture should not necessarily be an art form. The term here is a follow up to a series of similar names from the publisher. Art usually stems from the inside of the subject and might not necessarily conform to any external constraints, although there are many different definitions for art. Systematic design needs to reduce the uncertainty of the creative thinking process by employing existing patterns which resemble previously thought creative processes turned into defined entities. Architectural styles have been described in this book with this aim.
Three elements have been discussed for architecture, which are know as the Vitruvian triad, since they were proposed by Vitruvius. These are Function, Form and Fabric. In the case of software, function refers to the requirements, form is the actual design and fabric will be the quality.
Other nice to read topics from the book are the concept of complexity and techniques for managing it in software design.
This book is part of the books I've listed for the new class that I'm teaching for the IT department of the National Petroleum Company.
No comments:
Post a Comment