Software architecture is a key artifact in the development of complex software-intensive systems.
If you are reading this column, presumably you already agree with this statement. To realize the benefits of architectures, they must be designed so that the resulting systems behave predictably. This notion of design as art is anathema to the creation of an engineering discipline for software. ABASs are architecture patterns that can be used as building blocks for designing and analyzing software architectures. ABASs build upon the notion of an architectural style.