BA371 - System Architecture (Fit)

• Some assumptions:

• We know the User Requirements; we know which user/org. tasks the system must support (keep scope under control; 'creeping' scope is expensive).
  
• Whe know the system functions.

• Determine our technical constraints (Satzinger: application deployment environment):

• Operating System(s):
• Organizational/legacy constraints.
• Expertise constraints.
• Compatibility constraints.

• Programming languages:
• Do we even need to program? 
• Buy the whole thing: package? turnkey?
• Build the application from other applications.
  

• Legacy.
• Expertise, training and learning constraints.
  
• Platform/compatibility issues.
• Compiled? Interpreted? Byte-compiled?
• Leading vs. bleeding edge?

• Third party tools:
• Compatibility.
• Performance.
• Scalability.
• Service and support?
• Can internally support?
• External support available (e.g., Oracle gold, silver and bronze).
  

• Architectures:

• Satzinger et al. (p. 304): 3-layer architecture:
• Data layer: data repository.
• Business logic layer: "implements the rules of business processing"; the rules for building information from data.
• View layer: user interface rules; e.g., data to display (data layer) vs. format of the display (view layer).
• Problem: Are these really 'layers?' For instance, can the business logic layer be completely separated from the data layer?

• Components (Satzinger's 'layers') must act in a system. Hence,
• They are elements that must reside somewhere:
• Same machine.
• Different machines on same network.
• Different machines on different networks.

• They must communicate:
• Protocol (e.g., HTTP, embedded SQL).
• Data exchange mechanism (e.g., shared memory, files, middleware (driver), HTTP, XML).
• They may act as subsystems.

• Some examples of standard architectures:
  • 24-month study:

    

  • BLT:

    

  • TeachEngineering:

    TeachEngineering architecture
    

  • TeachEngineering metadata.
    

• What about our project?
• Windows; VB.Net
• Components:
• Factory editor/viewer
• Audit type editor
• Audit editor/viewer
• Audit form generator..
  
• Use tracker?

• Recommended architecture (for now): (application) client - (database) server.