Architectures With Pictures

Abstract

Wired and wireless models of software architecture are proposed as unifying models spanning a wide range of software, including object-oriented and real-time software. The models are defined and explained from a common conceptual viewpoint, with the aid of pictures, including concepts such as contracts, roles, wirings, and timethreads. Wired architectures have fixed point-to-point communication paths between components. Wireless architectures have no fixed point-to-point communication paths, but allow temporary, communication paths to be established dynamically. The paper uses a vanilla visual notation to communicate the concepts that is compatible with a wide variety of richer notations. Our central objective is to contribute to reconciling apparently-different ways of conceptualizing software architectures. © 1992, ACM. All rights reserved.