Systems Architecture

Human beings have employed the notion of systems so widely in all kinds of scientific studies. Systems definition is an artifact created by humans to describe what a system is. A system has been defined, by systems theory 1.0, hopefully to be an integrated whole, embodied in its components, their interrelationships with each other and the environment, and the principles and guidelines governing its design and evolution. This systems theory 1.0 definition of a system possesses one cardinal deficiency. The deficiency comes from that it does not describe the integration of systems structure and systems behavior. Systems structure and systems behavior are the two most significant views of a system. In order to achieve a truly integrated whole of a system, we first need to integrate the systems structure and behavior together. In other words, integration of the systems structure and systems behavior results in the integration of a whole system. Since systems theory 1.0 does not describe the integration of systems structure and systems behavior, very likely it only hopes and will never be able to actually form an integrated whole of a system. In this situation, systems theory 1.0 is powerless in defining a system suitably. SBC (i.e. structure-behavior coalescence) architecture provides an elegant way to integrate the structure and behavior of a system. A system is therefore redefined, by architectural theory (systems theory 2.0), truly to be an integrated whole, using the SBC architecture, embodied in its assembled components, their interactions (or handshakes) with each other and the environment, and the principles and guidelines governing its design and evolution. Since architectural theory describes the integration of systems structure and systems behavior, definitely it is able to form an integrated whole of a system. In this situation, architectural theory is fully capable of defining a system. In this book, we shall detail the architectural theory defining a system through the application of SBC architecture. By this book's introduction and elaboration of SBC architecture, all readers will understand clearly how the architectural theory helps us define a truly integrated whole of a system.