Architectural Genre is used to define the architectural approach for the build of any structure. Considering the software programming areas, the architectural designs point to a specific category, with a number of subcategories for each. Some general styles that are taken into consideration with the genre of buildings are – houses, condos, apartment buildings, office buildings, industrial buildings, warehouses, etc. The architectural genres for software-based systems as suggested by Grady Booch are as follows –
- Artificial Intelligence –
Systems which simulate or augment human cognition, locomotion, or other organic processes. - Commercial and Non-Profit –
Here, it includes systems that are fundamental to the operation of a business enterprise. - Communication –
Systems that provide the infrastructure for transferring and managing data, for connecting users of the data, or for presenting data at the edge of an infrastructure. - Content Authoring –
It includes systems that are used to create or manipulate textual or multimedia artifacts. - Device –
Systems that interact with the physical world to provide some point service for an individual. - Entertainment and Sports –
It includes those systems that manage public events or that provide a large group entertainment experience. - Financial –
Systems that provide the infrastructure for managing and transferring money and other securities. - Games –
This includes the systems that provide an entertainment experience to individuals or groups. - Government –
This includes those systems that support the conduct and operations of a local, state, federal, global, or other political entity. - Industrial –
Systems that simulate or control physical processes. - Legal –
Systems that support the legal industry - Medical –
It includes systems that diagnose or heal or that contribute to medical research. - Military –
Systems for consultation, command, communications, intelligence, and control as well as offensive and defensive weapons. - Operating Systems –
It includes systems that sit just above hardware to provide basic software services. - Scientific –
This includes systems that are used for scientific research and applications. - Transportation –
It includes systems that control water, ground air, or space vehicles.
Here each genre represents a unique challenge. Let us consider the software architecture for a game system. The game system requires the computation of intensive algorithms, sophisticated computer graphics, streaming multimedia data sources, real-time interactivity via conventional and unconventional inputs, and a variety of other specialized concerns.