Professional Application Lifecycle Management with Visual Studio 2013

Chapter 14Introduction to Software Architecture

What's in this chapter?

• Designing visually is important
• Understanding Microsoft's approach to a modeling strategy
• Using the modeling tools in Visual Studio Ultimate 2013

In this introductory chapter, you learn about some main themes around software architecture and design—domain-specific languages (DSLs), model-driven development (MDD), and the Unified Modeling Language (UML)—and how they apply to Visual Studio Ultimate 2013.

This chapter then gives a brief overview of the architecture tools in Visual Studio Ultimate 2013, including the support for the most common UML diagrams. Many of these tools are expounded on in later chapters of this part of the book.

Finally, this chapter wraps up with a brief glimpse at some of the changes and new features added to the architecture tools in Visual Studio Ultimate 2013. Specifically, code maps are a new type of dependency graph that you can use to help understand and debug your code base.

Let's begin by first establishing the case for undertaking visual modeling—or visual design—in the first place.

Designing Visually

Two elementary questions immediately come to mind. Why design at all, rather than just code? Why design visually?

To answer the first question, consider the common analogy of building complex physical structures, such as bridges. Crossing a small stream requires only a plank of wood—no architect, no workers, and no plans. Building a bridge across a wide river requires a lot ...