Synopsis
Software Architecture -- what a software system is designed to do and how the system's components are meant to interact with one another -- is an emerging discipline. Programmers and project managers who seek to learn critical new skills -- such as abstraction, refactoring, and architectural prototyping -- will find this overview very valuable. To advance in their careers, programmers are looking for insight into the processes used to determine the best architectural model and seeking ways to incorporate design patterns into their programming methodology.The objective of this book is to teach the reader how to be a competent software architect. It gives the reader an understanding of the technical concepts that are essential for good architecture practice. It also shows how to resolve architecture-related problems by thinking about the technology, requirements, and issues of distributed computing in effective ways to avoid the gotchas.
The book is essentially the first how-to guide for software architects. It includes what a software architect needs to know technically, and guides readers to effectively deal with people-related issues of development to achieve their goals.
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From the Inside Flap
Preface
Software architecture is an emerging discipline and an exciting career path for software professionals. We encourage both new and experienced practitioners to read this book as an aid to becoming better software architects. You may have noticed that most software books today do not say much about software architecture. Here, in this volume, we've concentrated the knowledge that you need to be the most effective architect possible.
As co-authors, we have lived through the experience of graduating from "member of technical staff" developers to becoming practicing software architects at the most senior levels of our respective companies. We are technical people, not managers, and we enjoy the technical nature of our work. We enjoy parity of salary and benefits with the senior managers at our respective firms. In other words, we are none-the-worse-for-wear as a consequence of choosing a software architecture career. We think that many of our readers would like to gain from our experience. Hence this book.
This is more than a book about software architecture. It is a field manual that can train you. We choose the pseudomilitary style, because it embodies an essential attitude. As a software architect, you need many survival skills—some technical, some political, some personal. While neither author has military experience, we have seen software architecture become a battleground in many ways. It is a battleground of ideas, as developers compete to forward their own comcepts. It is a battle ground for control of key design decisions that may be overruled by managers or developers, perhaps covertly. It is a battleground with many risks, since architects are responsible for a much wider range of technical and process risks than most managers or individual developers.
If you are a practicing software architect, we know that you are a busy professional. After buying this book, we would suggest that you peruse the table of contents and the index for topics that are new to you. Focus on those sections first. When you have time, we suggest that you attempt a cover-to-cover read-through, to familiarize yourself with all of the covered topics and terminology.
If you are new to architecture and want to become a software architect, we suggest that you do a cover-to-cover read-through beginning with the first chapter. Work the exercises provided, which will add an experiential learning element to your experience base.Raphael Malveau
Thomas J. Mowbray, Ph.D.
McLean, Virginia, U.S.A.
From the Back Cover
The completely updated "field manual" for becoming a better software architect!
The crucial skills you need to survive and thrive as an enterprise software architect! Fully updated for the latest techniques-from lightweight methods and architectural layers to Model-Driven Architecture and UML 2.0!
In this book, Raphael Malveau and Thomas J. Mowbray share up-to-the-minute insights and practical solutions for all the key challenges of building enterprise software systems with objects, components, and Internet technologies. You'll master today's best technical and business practices for the entire project lifecycle as you discover how to avoid crucial pitfalls and costly errors. Coverage includes:
- Choosing the right architectural model for your project
- Executing heavyweight and lightweight approaches to software architecture
- Understanding the architectural issues associated with open source development
- Managing complexity, scalability, reliability, security, latency, and flexibility
- Making the most of abstraction, refactoring, and architectural prototyping
- Leveraging proven design patterns and anti-patterns
- Effective prototyping, business-case development, and project leadership
- Coordinating smoothly with project managers and teams
- Managing your own career as a software architect
With hands-on exercises, real-life war stories, and a take-no-prisoners attitude, Software Architect Bootcamp, Second Edition, won't just help you become a great software architect: it'll help you become a true technical leader of your organization.
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