As software ages, changes to dependencies are inevitable, making architecture management more complex. Software architecture management solution company Lattix yesterday introduced the latest version of its solution, Lattix 6.0, to address this issue.
A new Web application in Lattix 6.0, the Lattix Repository and Project Browser, enables users in disparate locations to view a project’s architecture, dependencies and metrics, as well as to publish reports on changes and trends over time.
“Code organization doesn’t reflect architecture, and architecture erodes over time, which results in defects because change is propagated in places one wouldn’t expect,” said Frank Waldman, vice president of Lattix.
To avoid this, extended teams use the Project Browser to track projects with Snapshots of each build. Snapshots are a summary of key system metrics and changes, and they include architecture diagrams, reports of architectural violations, cycles, and a current worklist of improvements to be made in the project.
“People use Lattix to extract interdependencies and create logical structures,” Waldman said, “and the most common use case is to visualize the system because most people don’t know what they have and need a blueprint.”
Since layering, components and modules are missing in a codebase or database, by using the DSM (dependency structure matrix) approach, Lattix 6.0 applies algorithms to software to help define them, Waldman explained.
Lattix 6.0 also includes a new ActionScript Module for analyzing the architecture of ActionScript and Flex MXML applications.
The software also supports 64-bit operating systems and has modules for Ada, C/C++, Java, .NET and Pascal, as well as for Oracle, SQL Server and Sybase databases. Other modules support several frameworks and SysML/UML models, according to the company.
