615-346 Information Systems Architecture

Students enrolled in the BSc, BASc or a combined BSc course (except for the BSc/BIS) will receive science credit for the completion of this subject.

Students cannot gain credit for both this subject and 615-347.

615-245 Systems Analysis and Design, 615-237 Telecommunications Concepts or 433-254 Software Design

Modern information systems development places a premium on the separation of the logical application and information architecture from implementation detail. In this subject, we study the principles of high-level design and architecture of distributed information systems. We focus on current architectures that use XML and web services in development of a new generation of e-commerce applications. Topics covered include component-based design, client-server and n-tier architectures, web applications design and application development frameworks.

At the completion of this subject, students should:

• understand the issues involved in the architecture and design of complex inter- and intra-organisational systems;

• develop the skills to produce high-level models and designs for complex distributed systems;

• gain exposure to modern application development frameworks such as.NET and J2EE;

• understand the rationale behind emerging distributed systems technologies such as J2EE, XML, Web Services and.NET;

• understand the complexities underlying enterprise level distributed systems by designing and architecting for reliability, scalability and security and;

• develop an understanding of business processes and how these are being matched to underlying e-Commerce applications and services.

Ongoing assessment of individual (20%) and group (20%) project work throughout the semester; a 2-hour written examination in the examination period (60%). Satisfactory completion of both project work and the examination is necessary to pass the subject.