10 Best Software Architecture Books

If you aspire to become a good software architect, it’s necessary to have the right knowledge and the tools to implement the techniques. For starters, a software architect is a person who will make sure that the software that is developed is stable enough. To perform your best as a software architect, you are required to have good experience in the tech world in terms of both practical and theory.

Before we move on to the reviews, you must know about the few factors that you must keep in mind before buying one.

1. Check for ‘Best Sellers/Must Reads’

While you are searching for the best software architecture books, it’s important to go through the list in the category. It will also suggest a few options based on user reviews. You can also go for best sellers along with the reviews posted by the certified buyers.

2. Paperback/Hardcover/Kindle

Another aspect that you must not miss is in which format you want your book. It can be a hardcover, Kindle edition, or just a paperback. There is also significant price variation that will affect beginners who don’t have deep pockets. The paperback edition is the most affordable one and if you want a digital version, there is also a Kindle option.

3. Settle for a used one

If you just want to revise what you have already learned or want to update yourself on the latest developments, you can always do it without a permanent investment. In a majority of cases, there is always a ‘used’ option. You might also find an option to rent the book for a limited time. However, this is for the Kindle or the digital version.

4. Topics covered

When it comes to gathering some information on a particular topic, you should always cross-check the contents on offer. There will be a few cases when the book will cover all the fundamentals and the basics. On the contrary, there will be a few books based on a single topic that will be discussed in detail.

10 Best Software Architecture Books

Best Software Architecture Books: Reviews

If you are looking for change on an organizational level, as a senior developer and software architect, this book is for you. You need good-enough software architecture to make your company or organization Also, if you are an IT manager and wish to know more about the trends and transformational statistics on the high-scale, this book will help you.

Written by Gregor Hohpe, ‘The Software Architect Elevator’ brings you advice about going through challenging organizational topics and topics in the technical area. Also, this is a book apt for CTOs, Enterprise architects, as well as technical architects, and technologists in senior positions.

Various experiences and lessons shared by the author of the book are helping all of them. The author shares his advice on the elevators, automation of tasks that were previously done manually, innovation, using diagrams or memos, the ivory towers, and more. If you talk of the content value provided by the author in this book then you must know that it will blow your mind to a huge level. It’s a work with thorough research and enough details.

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It’s a fact that is known by all the coders that if the code that is written isn’t clean, the software will be full of bugs and glitches. There will be times when you will see bad codes working just fine but if the code isn’t a clean one, it will dismantle the whole setup.

There will also be multiple hiccups that you will face while any further development of the software. You might be wondering what the clean code is. It is explained differently by a lot of people, however, the gist that you will get with it is the code that you are writing should not have duplicates, must be elegant, and easy to read.

Robert Martin has tried to successfully deliver the fundamentals such as the basic differences in good code and bad code. Along with it, readers will also learn about the process of better code writing and how you can change a badly written code into a usable one.

The author has also included some of the best examples to illustrate the codes that are well written. If you are a developer who craves quality, this is the book that your shelf can’t miss. The language used by the author is quite straightforward and there are minimum fillers used.

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Like any other person, coders and developers also take new year resolutions where they want to perfect their skills and have better craftsmanship in their work. Mark Richards is the author of the book and he can offer readers a set of eight styles that will be significantly helpful in the architecture process.

Along with these styles, there are also detailed examples that will point out the strong and weak points of that particular style. There will also be a quick overview section that will come in a table format so that you don’t have to go through the full table.

If you have just started and are trying to find more information, Fundamentals of Software Architecture is one of the perfect books you can settle for. Various topics are covered here that will allow you to enhance your coding skills. The language used here by the author is also quite simple and you will be able to understand the technical jargon quite easily.

The book focuses on providing readers with the latest outlook on the available tech. Moving towards the end of the book, Richards has also included a set of a few soft skills that will enhance negotiation skills, presentations, etc.

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For the developers who have just started their career in the architecture domain, there are various options to opt for when it comes to learning new things. Joseph Ingero has successfully offered the developers in their beginner phase a detailed guide that will be significantly helpful in giving shape to their career.

The guide also offers you some advanced patterns and examples that you can follow to practice more and you will also find extra practice sets to perfect your skill set. If you are settling for this book, there will be no need of getting any add-on that can offer more info.

From the basics to all the technicalities, Software Architect’s Handbook covers all the topics in detail. While going through the guide, you will be able to find all the factors that you need to consider while working in the software architecture domain. There will also be certain tips and tricks that you will need to follow to keep improving the skills you know.

Author Joseph Ingero has also covered DevOps in detail and you will no longer need to have a separate book to understand its complexities. Along with all of it, this comprehensive guide will also cover the security tips that you can implement in your code.

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In the list of all the best software engineering books, I am glad to add another guide that is authored by Robert C. Martin. The language and his way to elaborate the technical aspects to a beginner are the most critically acclaimed aspect of his write-ups. Clean Architecture can cover all the principles and fundamentals that you need to know and follow to give your code a better shape. The author has also clearly mentioned the things that are necessary and mandatory while you are writing a code and the things that you will need to just add as a mere detail.

The problems that Robert Martin has included in this book are directly connected to that of the real world and you will be able to implement those solutions in your career for better efficiency in your workflow. An aspect that is also quite interesting with this book is that the reader will not feel like getting monotonous.

However, there are a few reviews posted by professionals that state the cons of this book. According to the developers, the content doesn’t feel like it is in sync and more of unorganized clutter. There aren’t also enough examples that one will find in this Uncle Bob’s comprehensive guide.

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This book specifically focuses on the OOP coding that is object-oriented and not every book covers in this much detail as Design Patterns did. Erich Gamma is the author of this software architecture book. The author has managed to focus on providing solutions to all the bugs and errors that occur while the designing process.

The book starts with an introduction to various patterns that developers will be able to use without any extra hassle or effort. For a majority of times, these patterns will solve the bugs and how to implement these solutions, Design Patterns offer a comprehensive guide.

There are a total of 23 patterns in the guide and you will find suitable situations to apply these patterns. The author has also included a number of case studies that will help you understand the problem and find a solution without any extra effort or hassle.

Various tables and graphs are being used to provide an overview of the patterns’ application. There is a big advantage that you will get with this book is that there is a section that will cover the potential problems that you might face while working on the software structure domain.

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This Martin Fowler book covers some amazing and rarely touched aspects of design patterns that are also kind of missed by Erich. As new technologies are appearing and to keep the same efficiency in your workflow, you will need to keep yourself updated with all the latest developments.

This book will allow you to do it with the help of some examples that are quite straightforward and easy to understand. PEAA is the guide that will give you a comprehensive analysis of all the things that you might not be able to crack up till now. Fowler collaborated with many developers and has prepared a compilation of around 40 patterns that you can use to get your code up and running.

The book also covers in-depth the relationship between the object and relational databases that you will base your code on. The list of patterns will also include a range of examples along with pros and cons so that you are able to implement the solutions, easily.

The language that is used here is also quite straightforward and you will not feel like going through any hassle to understand the technical aspect. The author has also paid attention to the correct organization of the chapters and topics.

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This is the third edition of the series and has managed to offer some very distinctive results. Developers will need to keep themselves evaluated so they can retain their efficiency. The content that you will get in this book will be of full value for your money.

The practice set that you will get here will help you significantly in understanding the structure and the format of your exam. The sets will also include detailed solutions so that you don’t have to look for any other space or resource to find the solution. The book will also cover a few aspects related to the requirements of the architecture design you are working on.

If you are a developer who has finally been able to work through all the object-oriented tasks, I would recommend this book to explore more areas and it will also be significantly helpful for the students to learn the format easily.

The included practice sets will be identical to that of the exam structure and it will help get better time management. Software Architecture in Practice will also include some advanced topics like cloud, end-user devices, etc. This 500-page thick guide will be one of the best tools to rely on if you want to expand your horizons and explore some creativity.

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There is a whole range of software application companies that keep updating their workflow and several companies have now shifted to use microservices. This is the technique to which the distribution companies are swiftly shifting to. There are various practical exercises provided in this guide that will eventually help offer you a comprehensive look at building and managing microservices. Sam Newman, the author, has successfully tried to cover all the basic concepts and fundamentals of the developments that microservices have managed to witness.

The way the expression author has opted to explain complicated topics is just extraordinary and best-in-class. The information that you will find in this book will be highly relevant and you will not feel like wasting any money.

There will also be long explainers that will include the steps you will need to follow to sync microservices with the rest of your software. The aspect that developers take quite a time to ace is monitoring and Building Microservices is one of the best tools that you can choose to learn. There will also be a range of references that you will get to check and explore more from other books.

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Coming to the last one in the list, this is the guide that truly focuses on the domain-driven aspect of the software architecture. The primary focus of the book is to fetch the whole team to use the same language along with applying the techniques more easily and simply.

You will also easily find ways to write a code in a way that can be used in multiple ways without getting it rewritten. The complex codes are also available in a quite easy and simple way where you will no longer need to research for more resources.

Along with it, there are also various analysis patterns that you will get to implement in solving some bugs and glitches. The language opted by the author is quite simple and the examples are also quite practical.

The real-life problems that are given in this book will help in the career and you will not need to find any other resource for the solution. The target audience for this book is system analysts, designers, and OO developers. These professionals will get to enhance their productivity significantly, all thanks to Eric Evans’ Domain-Driver Design.

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Conclusion

It’s time to wrap up and we hope that you are able to choose the book that you need. However, it might be a case where you are not finding it easy to pick one; you don’t need to worry about it. We are going to provide you with a few suggestions/recommendations that you can go for.

• If you are a beginner, I would say first get your basics clear. You should get Fundamentals of Software Architecture. 
• For professionals, once you have aced the object-oriented architecture, you should start expanding. The one I will recommend is Building Microservices. It’s a comprehensive guide for those working in distribution companies.