The architecture description language model

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the topic of architecture modeling for software systems. The architecture describes the structural composition of a system from components and relationships between these components. Thereby, it provides a basis for the system's realization on technical as well as on organizational level. We present some key concepts of the architecture description language MoDeL (Modular Design Language). By selecting and combining modeling elements which proved to be helpful for the design of software systems, this approach is integrative and pragmatic: It allows the definition of "clean" logical structures as well as adaptations necessary due to implementation constraints. Both the logical architecture as well as concrete architectures reflecting respective modifications are considered as individual results of architecture modeling. Even more, the transformation steps describing the changes induced by a particular realization constraint contain valuable modeling knowledge as well. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.