Architecture (disambiguation)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In modern usage, architecture is the art of creating an actual, implied or apparent plan of any complex object or system. The term can be used to connote the implied architecture of abstract things such as music or mathematics, the apparent architecture of natural things, such as geological formations or the structure of biological cells, or explicitly planned architectures of human-made things such as software, computers, enterprises, and databases, in addition to buildings. In every usage, an architecture may be seen as a subjective mapping from a human perspective (that of the 'user' in the case of abstract or physical artifacts) to the elements or components of some kind of structure or system, which preserves the relationships among the elements/components.

Architecture may refer to:

• The Architecture of the Built environment, the art and science of designing structures for human usage.
• Architectural history studies the evolution and history of (built) architectures across the world through a consideration of various influences- artistic, cultural, political, economic, and technological.
• Architecture (other), a representation of an arbitrary abstract, natural, or man-made structure of two or more interacting parts (for example, architecture of mathematics, architecture of language, cytoarchitecture, cellular architecture, naval architecture, skelletal architecture, battlefield architecture). All systems can be said to have an architecture.
• Biological architectures, the apparent architecture of biological structures. See cytoarchitecture, structural biology, cell architecture
• Computer architecture, the systems architecture of a computer
• Enterprise architecture, a systems architecture, or framework, for aligning an organization's structure/ processes/ information/ operations/ projects with the organization's overall strategy
• Information architecture, a systems architecture for structuring a knowledge-based system
• Naval Architecture, the science of design of water-borne vessels for marine and freshwater use in military and civilian roles,
• Product design, or product architecture, the systems design of a product or product family
• Landscape architecture, the design of man-made land constructs
• Systems architecture, the representation of an engineered (or To Be Engineered) system, and the process and discipline for effectively implementing the design(s) for such a system. Such a system may consist of information and/or hardware and/or software.
• Software architecture, the systems architecture of a software system.
• Hardware architecture, the systems architecture of a hardware system.
• Vehicle architecture, an automobile platform made from a set of components common to a number of different vehicles