Architecture Document for airflow/PFE

Authors

TimP

Sections

• Third Party Software Used
• Paneris Software Used

• Global data structure and format

• Data access

  Interface to the data repository from the code. This is a special case of a ``pervasive library'' (below) which is often particularly pervasive and easy to get wrong.

• Pervasive libraries

  These are the libraries we identify as underpinning large parts of the project; the litmus test is ``Will I have to change vast amounts of other code if I change this?''. The plan is that we do these first.

• Pervasive graphic designs

  Similarly, we need to think if there are design issues, or actual designs, which must be pinned down early on. Does this ever happen?

• Packages

  A carving of the non-pervasive parts of the system into independent parts so as (1) to minimise the ``surface'' area of interface between them and (2) to make each piece doable by one or at most two developers---I take it that we are never going to do a project in which we have to make further subdivisions in order to achieve this. The interfaces offered by each package are made concrete, as are its dependencies on other packages/libraries.

  Graphic designs are treated as packages too; the way they must relate to each other and to the code is pinned down as far as that is possible (consistency of look, space usage, anything else?).

• Generally important issues

  Security; performance.

Readership

• The project leader should at least be confident that the developers are confident that the architecture is correct.
• The developers should buy into the architecture as at least one of them should have written it :)
• Future maintainers should be able to understand the way the system as a whole fits together.

Introduction

The data structure for the ACANGold database is given here.

Paneris Software Used

Document Dated: Tue Apr 27 16:35:44 1999 by TimP
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