Master Software Architecture: Complete Course Outline (.NET & Java)

🏗️ Software Architecture Course Outline (.NET & Java, Beginner to Advanced, Latest Features)

📌 Introduction

Software Architecture is the backbone of building scalable, maintainable, and high-performance applications. A strong architecture ensures systems are modular, reusable, and adaptable to changing business requirements. This course roadmap covers software architecture principles, design patterns, layered architecture, microservices, cloud-native applications, and modern best practices for .NET and Java platforms, including latest tools, frameworks, and trends for 2024–2025.

📘 Detailed Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to Software Architecture

What is software architecture and its importance
Key responsibilities of a software architect
Overview of architecture styles: Monolithic, Layered, Microservices, Event-Driven, Serverless
Software architecture vs software design
Common challenges and pitfalls in architecture

Module 2: Core Principles of Software Architecture

SOLID principles
DRY, KISS, YAGNI principles
Separation of concerns
Modularity, reusability, and maintainability
Scalability, performance, and reliability considerations

Module 3: Architectural Patterns & Styles

Layered (n-tier) architecture (.NET & Java examples)
Client-Server architecture
Microservices architecture
Event-driven architecture
Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)
Serverless architecture and cloud-native patterns

Module 4: Application Design Fundamentals

Requirements analysis and functional decomposition
UML diagrams: Class, Sequence, Use Case, Component, Deployment
Domain-Driven Design (DDD) basics
Modeling entities, relationships, and aggregates
Data flow and control flow modeling

Module 5: Object-Oriented Architecture

Applying OOP principles at the architectural level
Designing reusable components
Interfaces, abstractions, and dependency inversion
Component coupling and cohesion
Design patterns overview (Creational, Structural, Behavioral)

Module 6: Layered & Modular Architecture

Presentation, Business, Data, and Service layers
Dependency management between layers
Modularization techniques (.NET assemblies, Java modules)
Versioning and backward compatibility
Cross-cutting concerns: logging, caching, authentication, validation

Module 7: Microservices & Distributed Systems

Microservices principles and benefits
Communication patterns: REST, gRPC, message queues
API Gateway and Service Discovery
Circuit Breaker, Retry, and Bulkhead patterns
Event sourcing and CQRS
Observability: monitoring, logging, distributed tracing

Module 8: Performance, Scalability & Reliability

Load balancing and caching strategies
Database architecture and sharding
Horizontal vs vertical scaling
High availability and fault tolerance
Performance testing and benchmarking

Module 9: Security & Compliance

Authentication & Authorization patterns (OAuth2, JWT, OpenID Connect)
Data encryption (at rest, in transit)
Secure API design and validation
Threat modeling and risk assessment
Compliance standards (GDPR, HIPAA, SOC2)

Module 10: Cloud-Native & Modern Architectures

Deploying architecture on AWS, Azure, GCP
Containers and orchestration with Docker & Kubernetes
Serverless architecture and Function-as-a-Service
Event-driven & streaming architectures in the cloud
CI/CD pipeline integration for architecture-driven development

Module 11: Advanced Architecture Practices

Domain-Driven Design (Advanced)
Hexagonal (Ports & Adapters) architecture
Reactive systems architecture
API design and versioning best practices
Observability, monitoring, and distributed logging
Emerging trends (AI-assisted design, cloud-native frameworks)

Module 12: Best Practices & Case Studies

Architecture evaluation frameworks (ATAM, CBAM)
Code maintainability and refactoring strategies
Real-world architecture case studies (.NET enterprise apps, Java-based systems)
Migration strategies: Monolith → Microservices
Lessons learned and pitfalls to avoid

📌 Conclusion

Mastering Software Architecture enables developers and architects to design robust, scalable, and maintainable applications for enterprise-grade systems. This course roadmap guides learners from basic principles and design patterns to advanced microservices, cloud-native architectures, and modern practices, ensuring readiness for 2024–2025 enterprise software challenges.