10 Common Software Architectural Patterns in a nutshell

Ever wondered how large enterprise scale systems are designed? Before major software development starts, we have to choose a suitable architecture that will provide us with the desired functionality and quality attributes. Hence, we should understand different architectures, before applying them to our design.

What is an Architectural Pattern?

According to Wikipedia,

An architectural pattern is a general, reusable solution to a commonly occurring problem in software architecture within a given context. Architectural patterns are similar to software design pattern but have a broader scope.

In this article, I will be briefly explaining the following 10 common architectural patterns with their usage, pros and cons.

1. Layered pattern
2. Client-server pattern
3. Master-slave pattern
4. Pipe-filter pattern
5. Broker pattern
6. Peer-to-peer pattern
7. Event-bus pattern
8. Model-view-controller pattern
9. Blackboard pattern
10. Interpreter pattern

1. Layered pattern

This pattern can be used to structure programs that can be decomposed into groups of subtasks, each of which is at a particular level of abstraction. Each layer provides services to the next higher layer.

The most commonly found 4 layers of a general information system are as follows.

• Presentation layer (also known as UI layer)
• Application layer (also known as service layer)
• Business logic layer (also known as domain layer)
• Data access layer (also known as persistence layer)

Usage

• General desktop applications.
• E commerce web applications.

2. Client-server pattern

This pattern consists of two parties; a server and multiple clients. The server component will provide services to multiple client components. Clients request…