What this book covers
Chapter 1, The Role of Architecture, looks at how, day by day, we do our tasks without realizing that we are building toward architecture. We need to understand how many benefits good architecture brings and how damaging lousy architecture can be. What is the impact of architecture on the other stakeholders besides the development team? We bring light to all these matters from the beginning.
Chapter 2, Diving into Some Common Architectural Patterns, discusses how no matter whether we are in the early years of our career or pursuing a career as an architect, as long as we build an application, we need to understand what we are building, what patterns we are creating, and why some decisions were made. This chapter covers some of the most common architectural patterns.
Chapter 3, Myths about Architecture, destroys some of the myths that web developers meet or create along the way regarding the architect and the architecture.
Chapter 4, Discussing What Good Architecture Is, covers some essential characteristics of good architecture. We will explain them one by one using relevant examples.
Chapter 5, Design versus Architecture, compares and explains an application’s architecture and design since we often confuse them. We will also point out how they work together.
Chapter 6, Types of Software Architects and Their Focus, divides and discusses different types of architecture and architects depending on their focus and level: for example, business, tech, or combined.
Chapter 7, Leveraging Soft Skills, focuses on the primary soft skills we need to develop to do a great job as an architect and meet all the requirements. Having a role where you interact with so many stakeholders creates a great need to develop skills such as time management, prioritization, communication, and so on.
Chapter 8, Who Codes and Who “Architects”?, focuses on collaboration. Whether we talk about collaboration at the business level or in the team, or about experienced web developers, juniors, architects, or technical leads, the application is built by working together and collaborating.
Chapter 9, Break the Rules, discusses self-discipline and engagement in the process. We will also open the discussion about software craftsmanship and related principles that help a web developer become an expert.
