Short Answer (500 words)

1. The papers we have read describe software architecture and a number of architectural styles. Using “software architecture” as an explicit part of a system development effort and choosing a specific architectural style in guiding your system design choices provides both advantages and disadvantages.

a) [250 words limit]

Identify the most significant advantages conveyed by choosing one well-understood architectural style for your software design. Justify your answer.

b) [250 words limit]

At the same time, Shaw and Garlan acknowledge that most large systems do not cleanly follow a single architectural style, and instead use different styles in places or use hybrid styles. Explain why complex applications seem to defy the use of just one architectural style. Justify your answer, and also reconcile it against the advantages provided by using a single style that you described in part (a).