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Architecture Description Languages

Architecture Description Languages . Gayatri Rajamani. Software Architecture-Definition. According to Shaw , the software architecture of a system is an abstract representation of the system ’ s components, their interfaces, and constraints on the system. Software Architecture-A model.

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Architecture Description Languages

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  1. Architecture Description Languages Gayatri Rajamani

  2. Software Architecture-Definition According to Shaw , the software architecture of a system is an abstract representation of the system’s components, their interfaces, and constraints on the system.

  3. Software Architecture-A model Shaw and Garlan present a model of architecture based on three abstractions: • Components :- independent units of computation. • Connectors :- interactions among components. • Configurations :- instance of architectural description represented as a graph of connectors and components.

  4. Why Architecture Description Languages? Architectural descriptions were often informal and ad hoc. As a result: • Architectural designs were not always properly understood as it was highly ambiguous. • The constraints assumed (i.e. the architectural constraints) in the initial design were not enforced (sometimes) as the system evolves.

  5. Why Architecture Description Languages? • Very few tools available to help the architectural designers. To address these problems, ADLs were introduced.

  6. Precursor to ADL • Module Interconnection Language • Describe system in terms of relation between modules by • Definition/use relationships • Import/export relationships +Well defined module-interfaces + Separate compilation - Inadequate for architectural description - Provide only low-level view of interconnection between components

  7. What is ADL ??? • Architecture description languages (ADLs) are formal languages that can be used to represent the architecture of a software system.

  8. MILs vs ADLs • MILS only describe the structure of an implemented system. • ADLs are used to define and model system architecture prior to system implementation.

  9. Elements of ADL • Components • Primitive building blocks • Connectors • Mechanisms of combining components • Abstraction • Rules for referring to the combination of components and connectors

  10. Important Properties of ADL • Composition – composition of independent components and connections • Abstraction – need to describe design elements clearly and explicitly • Reusability – ability to reuse components, connectors in different architectural descriptions

  11. Important Properties of ADL • Configuration – ability to understand and change the architectural structure • Heterogeneity – ability to combine multiple, heterogeneous architectural descriptions • Analysis - possible to perform rich and varied analysis of architectural description

  12. Types Of ADLs • ACME • Rapide • Wright • Unicon • Aesop • MetaH • Lileanna

  13. Example of a component in ADL

  14. Disadvantages of ADL • Current ADLs designed only for special purpose. • Tool support for ADL is poor • No universal agreement on what ADLs should represent

  15. UML as ADL ??? Advantages • Various diagrams to represent the dynamic behavior of the system • Class Diagrams and package diagrams offer the concepts of modular programming • Deployment diagrams may be used to define mapping of logical software objects onto hardware components

  16. UML as ADL ??? Disadvantages • UML notations are less formal than ADL is. • The concept of connectors, fundamental to ADL does not exist in UML.

  17. Future of ADL • Infrastructure to develop ADLs • Integration of ADL information with other life-cycle products

  18. Thank You!!!!!

  19. References: • D.Garlan and M.Shaw “ An Introduction to software architecture” . In V.Ambriola and G.Tortara, editors. Advances in software engineering and knowledge engineering. World scientific publishing company, 1993. • D.Garlan and M.Shaw “Software architecture Perspectives on an emerging discipline”. Prentice Hall,Upper Saddle River • http://www.sei.cmu.edu/str/descriptions/adl.html

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