With the pace of technological advances and digital transformation, modern computing systems are becoming larger and more complex.
To make these systems robust, flexible, and adaptable, proper planning of the software architecture types involved in the project is essential.
Today, there are many principles and patterns used across systems, and projects are rarely limited to a single style or architecture. Instead, they combine multiple patterns that together form the complete system.
Critical performance factors in your project are directly tied to choosing patterns that match the specific needs of your software.
In this post, you will learn about the main types of software architecture, along with examples of applications we all use every day, so you can decide which patterns best fit the demands of your project.
What Is Software Architecture?
As a relatively young and still-growing field, software architecture has no single definition in the literature. The debate around this definition is extensive, with many points of view involved. I particularly like the following definition:
“Software architecture defines what the system is in terms of computational components, the relationships between those components, and the patterns that guide their composition and constraints.
Beyond the choice of algorithms and data structures, architecture involves decisions about the structures that will form the system, control, communication protocols, synchronization and data access, assignment of functionality to system elements, physical distribution of those elements, scalability, performance, and other quality attributes.”
As an engineering concept, we can think of software architecture types as resources whose primary purpose is to maximize productivity gains in development.
Based on business goals and the specific delivery requirements of each system, architecture enables productive ways to develop, deliver, scale, and operate software.
Key Steps in the Software Architecture Process
- Defining the problem the software must solve: the architect needs to understand the system’s context in order to see its application from an external perspective. This makes it easier to describe the software proposal and identify its interfaces.
- Identifying the components: you need to define which components will be part of the software architecture design.
- Describing components and connectors: this should be done within an execution configuration.
Types of Software Architecture
An architecture type or pattern defines the classes of elements that can appear in an architecture and the rules governing how those elements interconnect. Patterns represent well-studied solutions to specific problems.
The Most Common Software Architecture Types
Layers
One of the most widely used types, where each layer has specific responsibilities within the software, bringing greater flexibility to the application.
It makes development and testing easier, but scalability can suffer, especially once the project starts accumulating a large number of layers.
Client-Server
In client-server architecture, information processing is split into distinct modules and processes, combining data from the client and the server. One module is responsible for maintaining information, while the other retrieves data. This architecture type is widely used in applications with routine user interactions, such as banking and email.
Model-View-Controller (MVC)
The MVC pattern separates the software design into three independent layers: the model (data logic handling), the view (the user interface), and the controller (application flow). This separation makes code easier to maintain and reusable across other projects, providing an interactive model for the system.
Microservices
This pattern relies on multiple services and components to build a modular structure. It is a favorite among developers and software architects because it enables scalability and module independence, with each module free to use different languages. Beyond being one of today’s most popular models, microservices also rank among the leading trends shaping the evolution of software architecture.
Pipes-and-Filters (PF)
The pipes-and-filters pattern is based on a linear architecture that uses computational components as filters: each one receives an input, transforms it through one or more algorithms, and produces an output to a communication channel. Examples of this architecture type include the Linux shell and video players that handle multiple formats.
Peer-to-Peer (P2P)
In peer-to-peer, every peer is both a client and a server — each computer acts as a service provider independent of a central server. If you have ever downloaded a file via torrent, you have encountered this architectural pattern.
Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)
SOA streamlines operations at large enterprises by supporting the process of discovering, defining, and managing available services. Nubank and Amazon are examples of corporations that use this architectural model.
Publish-Subscribe (Pub/Sub)
The primary architectural pattern behind social networks like Instagram and platforms like Spotify, the publish-subscribe model connects publishers and subscribers. Publishers send messages to subscribers, who are notified whenever new content becomes available.
Everyday Application Examples
Architecture is deeply woven into our daily routines, from online shopping to moments of leisure and entertainment. Here are examples of software architecture in systems you have probably used today.
Layered Architecture in E-commerce Systems
A very practical, everyday example is an e-commerce system, where the platform’s communication is structured in the software through layers.
From the moment a customer clicks to buy in your store, all the way to checking product availability in the database tied to inventory.
Netflix’s Microservices Architecture
One of the world’s largest streaming platforms uses microservices architecture to power all the APIs needed for its applications and web apps.
When a request reaches the endpoint, it calls other microservices to fetch the required data, and those microservices can in turn request data from yet other microservices. A complete response to the API request is then sent back to the endpoint.
Service-Oriented Architecture in Banking
This is one of the software architecture types used by large banking institutions. Today we are watching digital banks advance, becoming increasingly complete in terms of solutions and delivering everything digitally, quickly, and with agility.
This architecture format enables scale in both implementation and solution delivery. That is why opening your banking app gives you access to a full range of services from A to Z.
The Future of Software Architecture
The future of software architecture will be shaped by cloud computing and artificial intelligence patterns. These trends have been moving closely together because they are a natural evolution of software architecture and part of the digital revolution.
Cloud computing is a technology solution providing remote access to different online content. This means you no longer need a personal computer or a local server to access information. In our daily lives we already use cloud computing to edit documents in Google Drive or listen to a playlist on Spotify.
You just need to consider whether the service you are building will require a public cloud (the client is responsible for uploading information to the provider), a private cloud (a better fit for companies that provide an internal domain to employees), or a hybrid cloud (a combination of the two), because each has a different impact on an organization, including on service cost and performance.
How Does This Relate to Low-Code Development?
As we mentioned earlier, the main goal of software architecture types is to maximize productivity in developing software that delivers solutions and solves a wide range of problems.
That aligns closely with what low-code offers for systems development, creating a very favorable combination: starting a project from well-chosen software architecture types paired with low-code development.
Technological and digital advances demand ever more speed, flexibility, and performance, which is why low-code is essential in a software architecture.
In Closing
Defining an architecture at the start of a new project is always hard. There are many factors to weigh, and there is no exact or definitive answer when defining an architecture. Every project is unique, so the choice of architecture will depend on the system’s goals and the problem that needs to be solved.
The choice of architecture must be carefully considered and analyzed. Poorly structured systems can create serious problems with performance, scalability, and flexibility. A well-defined architecture at the start of a project can prevent rework and save both time and money.
If you want to get your projects off the shelf without needing an entire team of developers, get in touch with our team and simplify your routine with low-code, using intelligence to build solutions!
