Discussion Questions

A user invokes a Web browser to download a file. Before doing so, the browser retrieves a plug-in to handle that type of file. Is this an example of a dynamic architecture? How would you document it?

Suppose that communication across layers in a layered system is carried out by signaling events. Is event signaling a concern that is part of the layered style? If not, how would you document this system?

Consider a shared-data system with a central database accessed by several components in a client-server fashion. What are your options for documenting the two-style nature of this system? Which option(s) would you choose, and why?

A bridging element is one that can appear in view packets in two separate views. Both views will have room for documenting the element's interface and its behavior. Assuming that we do not wish to document information in two places, how would you decide where to record that information? Suppose that the bridging element is a connector with one role for one style and one role for another. Where would you record the information then?

Sketch a top-level context diagram for a hypothetical system as it might appear in the following views, assuming in each case that the view is appropriate for that system: (a) uses, (b) layered, (c) pipe-and-filter, (d) client-server, (e) deployment.