CMU CS 15-675 Architectures for Software Systems Spring 1996
Garlan & Shaw Questions on Readings for Lecture 2 Due: Wed Jan 17, 1996
The papers:
Jackson (94): Problems, Methods, and Specialisations
Polya (73), pp.xvi-xvii, 33-36: How to Solve It
Best (95): Position Paper for the Workshop on Architectures for Software Systems
Rechtin (92): The Art of Systems Architecting
Hints:
These readings set a context for the study of software architecture. They have two common themes: (1) It is essential to discriminate among different kinds of problems and solutions, and hence to make informed choices among solution strategies. (2) The most important design decisions deal with overall system structure--not with, for example, programming details.
Read these papers chiefly for the kind of information they regard as most important. Also pay attention to the specific problem and solution structures they identify and the methodological implications.
Questions:
1) For each of the three problem frames described in Jackson's paper, identify a specific, observable characteristic of a problem that suggests the given frame as a good candidate for characterizing the problem.
2) Best identifies a number of architectural frameworks.
(a) In Jackson's terms are these problem frames or solution frames?
(b) For each of Best's frameworks, identify which (if any) of Jackson's frames it is similar to.