Simplicity in System Architecture and Software Design
Triple Essence: Strength, Utility, and BeautyWhat properties should we expect of a good design? The influential ten-volume de Architectura, by first century BC Roman architect Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, suggested that all constructions should possess "strength, utility and beauty". Sir Henry Wotton (1568‑1639) quaintly changed this to, "commodity, firmness and delight." In system architecture this can be translated into Style, Sense and Simplicity. In order to balance these tree qualities in system design the system architect should master Aristotle's pathos, logos and ethos. |
Architecture | style | sense | simplicity |
Terra (earth) | pyro (fire) | aqua (water) | aero (air) |
Plato (427-347 BC) | beauty | truth | goodness |
Aristotle (384-322 BC) (Rhetoric) | pathos (emotion) | logos (reason) | ethos (ethics) |
Vitruvius (ca. 60-20 BC) (de Architectura) | venustatis (beauty) | utilitatis (utility) | firmitatis (strength) |
Sir Henry Wotton (1568‑1639) | delight | firmness | commodity |
Chain reaction simplification