04.2 · Capability in Engineering

Software architecture

The large-scale structure of a system and the tradeoffs behind it. Good architecture keeps future changes cheap.

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04.2.1ModularityDividing a system into parts with clear responsibilities.
04.2.2Separation of concernsKeeping different responsibilities in different places in the code.
04.2.3System boundariesDeciding where one component or service ends and another begins.
04.2.4Coupling and cohesionHow much parts depend on each other, and how well each part holds together.
04.2.5ScalabilityHandling more users, data or load without a rewrite.
04.2.6Technical tradeoffsWeighing speed, cost, quality and flexibility in technical decisions.

Mark all 6

Where to start

3 resources

articleStart here
Monolith first ↗
Martin Fowler · 2015 · 6 min
Why most successful systems start as one well-structured application and split only when boundaries are clear.
articleStart here
Documenting architecture decisions ↗
Michael Nygard · 2011 · 6 min
The original proposal for short architecture decision records, so trade-offs stay visible later.
courseGo deeper
The system design primer ↗
Donne Martin · free guide
A broad, free tour of scaling techniques: caching, replication, queues, load balancing and their trade-offs.

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