Top Software Architecture Patterns: Know Everything from Meaning to Types and More

Quick Summary: It’s time that you overcome the software design challenges by inculcating the ideal software architecture pattern in your business. In this blog, you will gain an in-depth understanding of what exactly such architecture patterns are, how you can benefit from them, and what are their prominent types. By the end of this read, you will have a clear roadmap of which pattern to choose for your business and why. So, get exploring!

Software architecture patterns play a crucial role in the success of digital projects. As the global software market grows, choosing exemplary architecture to meet the industry's requirements is essential. Scalability and maintainability are the key factors that ensure applications can handle changing demands and avoid performance issues. According to Gartner, 85% of CEOs plan to adopt a cloud-native software architecture to meet digital demand by 2025.

To accomplish this, companies often seek a reputable software architecture company with a thorough understanding of architectural patterns. These experts are familiar with the technical complexities of components, processes, and layers, making it easy to connect them seamlessly. By partnering with them, you can achieve success in your software projects and transform your digital presence to gain a competitive edge.

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Join us to explore the different patterns of software architecture, from fundamental principles to practical applications, so you can confidently select the ones that best suit your project's needs.

A Brief Look at What is Software Architecture

Software architecture refers to the fundamental patterns and structures of a software system. It involves the discipline required to design these patterns and systems, which serves as a plan for the system and the work that must be done to build it. This includes the tasks that must be performed and the system's compliance with all parties' requirements.

In simpler terms, software architecture is like a blueprint for a building. It establishes the overall structure of software systems, including the system components and their connections, as well as the principles that guide design and continuous development.

A crucial approach in modern software architecture is service-oriented architecture (SOA), where applications comprise, independent services communicating over a network. These SOA services promote flexibility and scalability, allowing systems to adapt to changing needs and integrate smoothly with other systems.

Software Architecture Patterns: Meaning and Importance

In modern software engineering, developers usually face a range of issues like less availability, performance limitations, high business risks, etc. Designing architectural patterns in software engineering is a great way to address these challenges as developers find a reusable solution that comes with a specified set of roles, responsibilities, and subsystems.

In simple words, a software architecture pattern is a high-level design that describes the organizational structure and component arrangement within a software system. It provides information about the main constituents of the system, how they interact, and the general architecture. Architectural patterns decide about the suitability of the system for scaling, performance, and maintenance.

In terms of an engineer’s viewpoint, software architecture design patterns are tremendously important for improved efficiency, easier debugging, seamless project coordination, and adding new features.

And from the client’s perspective, software architecture styles help in developing high-quality products, optimizing project costs, speeding up the development process, and so on.

Top Five Benefits of Software Architecture Patterns

Now that you know what a software architecture pattern is, let's move to understand the conspicuous reasons to craft one for your next project. As a developer or a business owner, here are a few grounds on which you should go for pattern oriented software architecture.

You Can Predefine the Core Functionalities of Your App

Architecture patterns help you sketch out the basic attributes, behavior, strengths, and weaknesses of your application. For example, you can use some patterns for agile apps, while others can be more suitable for scalable apps.

Agility is Easily Achievable

While you execute a software project delivery, your product is bound to go through a number of iterations and modifications. Creating a robust and flexible architecture pattern allows you to make changes in the early phases and modify the app in the future as well.

Identify and Fix Issues Ahead of Time

Software architecture patterns provide you the prior knowledge and a clear idea about how the system and its components are going to work. Your team can adopt refined practices to resolve any errors and simplify complicated processes.

You Get Consistent Quality

Quality issues are common hindrances when pursuing software development services. But using an architecture pattern enables you to reuse transferable models and, thus, consistently maintain the quality. It also leads to a scalable and optimized final product.

Boost Productivity Multifold

Improved productivity is the direct outcome of architectural styles and patterns in software engineering. As the project scope becomes clear, you can enhance the productivity rate and quickly take control of the project’s momentum.

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Different Types of Software Architecture Patterns You Need to Know

It's time to aim for the bull's eye and have a comprehensive look at some well-established software architecture and design patterns that countless organizations have created, tested, and implemented in the real world.

1. Layered Software Architecture Patterns

Layered, aka N-tier, is one of the most recognized and standard architecture patterns due to its easy development and maintainability. As the name implies, it follows a tiered method where one logical layer offers services to another layer. This is quite a traditional approach for software development life cycle methodologies where the purpose is to interconnect all the components without any dependability.

For software architecture patterns examples of layered architecture take a look at the following figure. The database layer is at the bottom and delivers services to the subsequent upper layers.

The MVC (Model-View-Controller) pattern is another common instance of layered architecture in software architecture as it uses similar components and a three-layer approach.

Top Perks

• This is a perfect pattern if you want to experiment with less overboard and follow a well-established method.
• As it’s a tiered approach, applications created with this pattern have a layered format as well.
• Interdependency is negligible in this pattern, and hence, unit testing or functional testing becomes easier.

Pain Points

• Large projects using layered architecture patterns are usually resource-consuming and less flexible.
• Using this type of pattern leads to the development of monolithic systems that require complete redeployment for even minute changes.

Best Use Cases

• Applications that require separation of concerns and maintainability as primary architectural pillars.
• You need to build an app quickly with a limited number of engineers.
• Your business needs the traditional IT infrastructure and processes.

2. Microservices Software Architecture Patterns

Microservices architecture has recently gained massive popularity due to its ability to break down a large system into smaller and more manageable components. Each of those components works individually and fosters independent communication with others.

Developers consider it one of the best software architecture patterns as it enables them to work on a particular component without affecting the functionality of the whole application. Netflix is one of the early connoisseurs of microservices architecture, and they effectively utilized this pattern to serve millions of customers.

Microservices architecture is more appealing, and a considerable alternative to monolithic patterns as you can build the entire app with loosely coupled services. Even a small team of seasoned software architects can write and build microservices as an independent and self-regulated codebase containing all the business logic.

Top Perks

• Systems built with microservice architecture excel at fault tolerance. Even if some microservices stop working, the entire software will not fall headfirst.
• Such applications are highly scalable as you can individually update each component with an updated tech stack and multiple programming languages.
• Based on the scope of the project, you can integrate various services into your application.

Pain Points

• It can sometimes be difficult to interlink all the components and manage each of them individually.
• The projects may be overly complex and might need a dedicated software development team. Maintaining data integrity and preventing security breaches could be challenging as well.

Best Use Cases

• You are in dire need of upgrading your legacy application with one of the most sustainable software architecture patterns.
• Modern software that requires rapidly growing data systems.
• Web apps with global remote teams and well-defined boundaries.

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3. Event-Driven Software Architecture Patterns

This is another modern approach to architectural design in software engineering that revolves around software components asynchronously identifying, processing, and responding to certain ‘events’ like keystrokes, scrolling, mouse click, etc.

Unlike the layered architecture, where data flows from one point to another with a predefined order, the event-driven architecture enables app modules to work as per occurring events. This pattern usually falls into two different categories – broker topology (linking events collectively without a central mediator) and mediator topology (demonstrating multiple operations in an event bus with a central mediator).

In simple words, this type of pattern oriented software architecture includes publishers, subscribers, sources, and sinks – publishers fetch and hoard data in the event store, subscribers render and respond to the event, sources generate data triggered by UI, and sinks are where the data ends up.

Top Perks

• Software of this kind adds to the response time of the architecture, resulting in higher scalability and better business outcomes.
• If you want real-time updates in your app with asymmetric data flow, event-driven architecture is the best bet for you.
• IoT devices that need to exchange data between consumers and service providers in real-time are most suitable for it.

Pain Points

• If multiple modules are responsible for a single event, developers may face challenges in managing errors.
• The transaction-based mechanism for consistency tends to be complicated with the decoupling and mutually dependent components.

Best Use Cases

• Event-driven software architecture design patterns are perfect for live streaming app development.
• Scalable and extensible applications requiring seamless data communication.
• If you want to develop an app with highly interactive and responsive user interfaces.

4. Space-Based Software Architecture Patterns

Space-based architecture pattern stands out from the rest for its ability to overcome high loading problems. Most of the patterns deal with databases and usually lead to app crashes when the database can’t handle the load. Contrastingly, this particular pattern brings forth the concept of tuple space – the distributed shared memory.

For example, the above figure showcases the core attributes of a space-based pattern. The processing unit consists of back-end business logic and web-based components. Whereas you can deploy smaller apps as a single unit, large ones can be broken down into different processing units. Additionally, the virtualized-middleware module contains components to manage data synchronization and handle requests.

The most significant feature of event-driven architectural styles in patterns in software engineering is that it works without a central database. The software receives a request and processes the bid with a timestamp. After that, it upgrades the bid’s data and sends it back to the browser. This is an effective example of how modern web development stacks work.

Top Perks

• It's the best architectural pattern to mitigate scalability and concurrency issues in your application.
• If you work with low-value data that you can occasionally afford to lose without having to face the consequences, this pattern might prove to be useful.
• Apps that deal with changing and unpredictable concurrent user loads will seamlessly work with this architecture.

Pain Points

• There's a chance of corrupting multiple copies if you need to cache data for speed.
• Generating the needed load to test the app may sometimes be arduous.

Best Use Cases

• Event-driven architecture works superiorly with social or eCommerce websites.
• Software and apps that work with a huge userbase or constant volume of requests.
• Ideal for website monitoring, payment processing, real-time marketing, and fraud detection.

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5. Master-Slave Software Architecture Patterns

If a single database receives a range of requests at the same time, it decelerates the application process and makes it more complex. The master-slave architecture pattern is the best-suited solution to such problems as several slave components work under a master database and quickly handle those requests.

You should note that the master database would have absolute control and define the way the components will work and communicate. The reason we consider it one of the top software architecture patterns is because applications built upon this architecture can provide the results at the desired time as all the slave components will simultaneously render their requests.

Top Perks

• Database apps are well-suited for this architecture pattern as they need heavy multitasking.
• You can divide the application into smaller modules to perform similar user requests at the same time and render results.
• It gives you more control over the time management of your software with its multi-loop functionality.

Pain Points

• The isolated nature of the slave components may lead to increased overhead.
• The slave components might face failure from the system dependencies.

Best Use Cases

• Operating systems with an architecture that needs to be compatible with multiprocessors.
• Web applications or websites that use multithreading to improve their responsiveness.
• Leading-edge apps that need to split larger services into smaller modules.

6. Microkernel Architecture Pattern

The microkernel architecture pattern is a design pattern that is also known as the plug-in or modular architecture pattern. This pattern extends the kernel without altering the core kernel functionality. It achieves this by implementing drivers and services as independent modules. The aim of this method is to keep the kernel code as small and compact as possible by loading additional functions through a modular process.

In a microkernel design, only the core functions, such as process management, memory management, and inter-process communication, are placed in the kernel. At the same time, the peripheral drivers and file systems are separate modules.

Top Perks

• It facilitates the integration of new modules when needed or grants the ability to add/remove the modules.
• The modularity of these massive architectures reduces the difficulties of adding new modules.
• Keeping the critical ecosystem as small and straightforward as possible reduces the number of errors, making the system more reliable.
• Developers can customize the system by including only the necessary modules, avoiding bloat that could slow the system down.

Pain Points

• It can be a challenging and impossible task to balance the interface between various modules.
• Converting dynamically loaded modules into kernel performance can cause a heavier load than the monolithic kernel.
• It is also difficult to adjust these modules to work together while maintaining compatibility with the corresponding kernel.

Best Use Cases

• The microkernel architecture pattern is particularly useful for embedded systems that have limited resources and require customizations.
• It is also beneficial for highly adaptable and customizable operating systems.
• In applications where reliability is crucial, such as aerospace and medical devices, a microkernel structure can provide simplicity and controllability, thereby increasing its value.

7. Pipe-Filter Pattern

The Pipe-Filter pattern is a design pattern that helps in implementing systems that process sequences of data as a pipeline. In this pattern, several stages or filters with pipes connecting each stage are linked together. Each filter performs a specific task on the data and passes it to the next filter via the pipe. This pattern is beneficial for developing modular and reusable custom components that can be mixed together to perform various data stream processing tasks.

Top Perks

• The filters in a system can be added, subtracted, or reordered without affecting the resulting system.
• Filters are independent blocks that can be used in any pipeline, which promotes code reusability and prevents duplication.
• The pipeline design workflow allows the device to process data in parallel, which increases its performance and scalability.
• This pattern supports diverse workloads through a variety of filter arrangements.

Pain Points

• Handling the routing of data and filter coordination in a large pipeline can be a complex task. This is especially true when dealing with large pipelines.
• The additional overhead caused by the pipelines and filters may slow down the entire process, especially in terms of memory and CPU resources.
• Any potential changes to the pipeline and individual filter parameters require competent cooperation among all parties involved to ensure the system runs correctly.

Best Use Cases

• The Pipe-Filter Pattern is a reliable model for processing information-intensive tasks such as data analytics, ETL systems, and data compressions.
• This pattern's applicability increases due to the modularity and reusability of a number of operations, ranging from data format transformations to the pipeline's nature.
• Complex sequences of steps can be automated using the pipe-filter pattern by dividing the entire workflow into simple tasks connected by a pipeline.

A Head-to-Head Comparison Between Common Software Architecture Patterns

Up to this point, we have walked through different types of architectural patterns in software architecture, their benefits, drawbacks, and what they are best fitted for. Now it's time to summarize the discussion and pick the best one for your project by looking at the following table:

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What’s Next? The Final SayBuilding your application without considering the fundamentals of software architecture patterns is a recipe for disaster. Modern development calls for quick brainstorming and standardized practices that can form a rock-solid base for the software. Selecting the right architecture pattern is crucial for the success of your software project. By understanding the nuances of each architecture pattern and its application, you can make an informed decision that aligns with your software requirements. At Radixweb, we have talented software architects who are knowledgeable about these patterns and can greatly contribute to the success of your project. Take two minutes off your schedule and explore our top-notch enterprise software development services so that we can help you adopt the best architectural practices for your upcoming project.Let's talk!