Pattern-oriented software architecture

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1. keithnzMay 2026
   I don't actually think this has much to do with software architecture. Except maybe the "Isolate parts of your system..."

   In fact the article itself didn't really seem to be too coherent on software architecture. I think the 4+1 view of software architecture is a good conceptual way to think about things (minus all the UML). It's not a complete picture but it addresses the bigger picture. The book series Pattern-Oriented Software Architecture is pretty good and outlines a number of architectures people tend to land on. One stage Grady Booch was working on a handbook of software architecture, but seems to be kind of dead ish, but he did have a mailing list where he'd go to companies or look at large open source projects and look document big system architectures (and some smaller scale), not sure where you can see this anymore. All of these things are worth diving into if you want to learn about software architecture. You can see these architectures are built for different focuses, things like scale, safety, performance, interoperability, failsafe, etc. i.e. there are very specific goals of an architecture with very real tradeoffs.

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2. blubAug 2022
   I suggest learning an architecture framework which guides you on what topics to address as part of your architecture - such as 4+1, Viewpoints and perspectives or arc42 which I’ve learned of recently and seems to resemble the former. You’ll then mix domain-specific details into that framework.

   Systems design is for me quintessentially embedded system architecture for a microcontroller, a SoC or combination. It could be a smartphone or console, or medical device, etc. This is a very broad domain… in my case I work exclusively on non safety-critical SW, so I’ve focused on learning Linux internals and system programming which I combine with an architecture framework. Typically I design middleware and daemons which work together to cover a specific area of a product. I work with different kinds of specialists (HW, kernel, performance, etc) and a lead SW architect for each specific platform. The system architect is a different person that oversees both SW and HW and requires skills in both.

   For Linux I cand recommend the classics: Stevens, Kerrisk, Love. I found Chris Simmonds’ book to be a good general intro to embedded programming; it has much info which also helps with embedded system design. I’ve also picked up ideas from Making Embedded Systems by White or Embedded Systems Architecture by Noergaard.

   Application design refers to individual applications running on an OS. These are the typical MVC or layered architecture styles. The official OS UI framework will likely define a recommended architecture while headless services are quite flexible and support several architectural styles.

   Vol 1 of the Pattern Oriented Software architecture is a good intro. I have Software Architecture Patterns by Richards on my reading list, since it covers more recent styles like microservices.

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3. jbokaFeb 2021
   I recommend you to buy some proper books to get familiar with well written design patterns. Classics are "Design Patterns" from the Gang of Four (GoF), "Pattern-Oriented Software Architecture" by Buschmann et al. or "Enterprise Integration Patterns" by Hophe and Woolf which patterns are partly available on the website https://www.enterpriseintegrationpatterns.com/.

   The first two books I consider almost a must read. Actually it's not about reading them but learning the patterns. More about this here: https://www.industriallogic.com/papers/learning.html

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4. blubAug 2019
   I read parts of the refactoring book (1st edition) when it came out to see what kind of refactorings the author mentions. Since I didn't remember much from it, I decided this year to take a look at the 2nd edition, which to my amusement is written in JavaScript. After reading the example refactoring at the beginning I abandoned the book, because it champions the "code as prose" idea, which is rightfully contradicted by Ousterhout in his "A Philosophy of Software Design".

   "Enterprise architecture" was not relevant for me, I wasn't doing any EA when I started reading it and quickly lost interest. The only potentially engaging topic was concurrency, but there are much better books available about that topic.

   "Pattern-Oriented Software Architecture" (I am only familiar with vol 1 & 2) has wider applicability and is more compelling in my opinion. And they have references and examples. For instance the Pipes & Filters architecture patterns gives UNIX [Bac86], CMS Pipelines [HRV95] and LASSPTools [Set95] as examples and references "The Pipeline Design Pattern" [VBT95].

   I do see case studies and references, but not from these authors I mentioned.

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5. de107549Jul 2016
   There were different book that impacted different stages of my career:

   As a programmer :

   1. The C++ Programming Language by Bjarne Stroustrup.

   2. Operating System Concepts by Silberschatz

   3. Compilers by Aho

   As an agile software developer:

   1. eXtreme Programming by Kent Beck

   2. Pragmatic Programmer by Hunt and Thomas

   3. Continuous Delivery by Jez Humble

   As an architect:

   1. Domain Driven Design by Evans

   2. Pattern-Oriented Software Architecture by Buschmann

   3. Envisioning Information by Edward Tufte

   As a CEO:

   1. Good To Great by Collins

   2. Lean Startup by Eric Ries

   3. Beyond Budgeting by Pfläging

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6. nextosJul 2014
   Check out the Pattern-Oriented Software Architecture volumes.

   You can also draw a lot of inspiration from the Erlang literature, and CTM.

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