The Architecture Goes Round and Round The Architecture Goes...
I am sure you have heard this before but after so many years (I lost count long ago) in software development you begin to see patterns emerge in the evolution of Software Architecture. You all probably read Gartner reports or published papers but it is true we seemed to be headed back towards more processing on the client in a multi-tier architecture. Part of the drivers is the need for greater flexibility and a richer user experience. Since we now have fairly powerful processors even multi-core desktops and laptops are becoming common. One of the unsung benefits will be reduced resources needed at a data center and thus greater profit margins. To achieve these benefits and take advantage of the available hardware resources a system like MyUniPortal needs to be architected, designed, implemented and tested. For example the Rich Internet Application (RIA) or client uses multi-threading to achieve faster response times. Each child window in MyUniPortal has it’s own handler thread and indeed even various areas such as tree navigation, toolbar and content area have threads so work can be done concurrently. Factory and message adaptors patterns are used to further enhance maintainability and adaptability thus quicker turn around for changes requested by the user community. To further provide quality a Metrics pattern was designed and implemented to support development efforts by providing instant performance information and future proactive customer satisfaction feedback. In some ways this goes beyond the “My Dads Architecture” of the 70’s and 80’s but takes advantage of lessons learned by that generation and in MyUniPortal’s case provides architecture enhancements for the next generation.