The Relationship Between Software Architecture and Source Code

1. Understand the definition

Software architecture is an essential field in software research and application. It represents the high-level structure of the entire system and describes the design based on functional and non-functional requirements using architectural styles, views, and patterns.

Source code, on the other hand, is the “life” of the software, where code is written to implement the system. It can be seen as a low-level structure, storing code without a visual representation of the entire system. It often lacks specific patterns, relying instead on the experience and recommendations of the languages and frameworks used.

2. Transformability Relationship

• Architecture guides coding: It helps determine code structure and patterns to use.
• Architecture as an abstraction of code: Architecture and source code can be viewed as abstract sides in OOP -> Source code is the realization of the architectural abstraction.
• Code generation from architecture: AI models can now generate code from system architecture descriptions and UML diagrams, though this is still evolving.

3. Traceability Relationship

Code and architecture interdependence: Coding requires understanding domain models and related logic. 

• If the architecture is microservices-based, the interactions between services must be understood for stable code. Some languages and frameworks enforce conventions that architecture must accommodate.
• Certain components in the architecture will correspond to elements in the code.

4. Consistency Relationship

The relationship between architecture and source code must be consistent. Code should adhere to the architecture and synchronize with changes in requirements. Both must evolve together to maintain a consistent design and implementation.

The quality of architecture affects code quality positively. If the architecture is unclear or flawed, it will lead to coding errors and vice versa. Architecture defines layers, components, and middleware, impacting how code is written and patterns used.

5. Recovery Relationship

In a system, architecture typically precedes coding. Most people approach understanding and leveraging the relationship between architecture and source code through top-down development. This involves using Domain-Driven Design, Service-oriented Development, and Agile processes to adapt quickly to changes.

6. Benefits and Challenges, How does it affect our project?

We should understand and utilize the relationship between software architecture and source code to improve system maintainability, reliability, and speed. 

However, this kind of development also faces challenges such as:

• The cost and effort to link architecture and source code, including creating documentation and organizing source code.
• Lack of tools to observe and build this connection.

On the other hand, ignoring the relationship might speed up development in the short term but increase long-term maintenance costs and efforts. So we should carefully research and choose the right, effective approach to balance benefits and costs for our project.