Your Code as a Crime Scene

Know What’s in an Architecture

If someone approaches you on a dark street corner and asks if you’re interested in software architecture, chances are he’ll pull out a diagram. It will probably look UML-like, with a cylinder for the database and lots of boxes connected by lines. It’s a structure—a static snapshot of an ideal system.

But architecture goes beyond structure, and just a blueprint isn’t enough. We should treat architecture as a set of principles rather than as a specific collection of modules. Let’s think of architecture as principles that help us reason and navigate large-scale systems. Breaking principles is expensive. Let me illustrate with a short story.

View Your Automated Tests as Architecture

Do you remember my war story in the ...