Table of contents
1.
Introduction 
1.1.
What is Component Architecture?
1.2.
What do you mean by Component?
1.3.
Different types of Component
2.
How is Component Architecture helpful in Web Development?
3.
Advantages of the Component Architecture
3.1.
Lower Maintenance Costs and More Control
3.2.
To save time and money, faster development is necessary.
3.3.
Take the most of your Specialized Skills
4.
Characteristics of the Component Architecture
5.
Principles of Component Architecture
6.
More Apps, High-Quality Content, and Less Time
7.
Frequently Asked Questions
8.
Key Takeaways
Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024

Component Architecture

Author Sneha Mallik
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Introduction 

The component architecture is a sort of application architecture made up of components, which are self-contained, modular, and reusable building blocks. When developers utilize component-based architecture concepts to construct an application, they can combine, reuse, and version these items, saving a lot of time over building the entire system from scratch.

React embraces Component-based architecture. You may build complicated user interfaces from smaller bits by reusing components and using abstracted DOM(Document Object Model) techniques.

Component-based development is effective because it allows a complicated system to be developed from specialized, easy-to-manage components. Only well-designed components, on the other hand, ensure composition and reusability advantages.

You must always walk on the thin line of architectural correctness, despite the application's complexity or the need to fulfill before the deadlines or because of suddenly changing the requirements. Always make your components separated, single-task focused, and thoroughly tested.

When developing a React project, always question yourself:

  • What is the best way to structure the component?
  • When should a large component be broken into smaller ones?
  • How do you design a component-to-component communication system that avoids tight coupling?

What is Component Architecture?

A component architecture is a sort of application architecture made up of components, which are self-contained, modular, and reusable building elements. When developers utilize component-based architecture concepts to construct an app, they can combine, reuse, and version these items, saving a lot of time over building the entire system from scratch.

What do you mean by Component?

A component is a reusable entity that speeds up the construction and delivery of applications while also providing additional functionality. It creates modules out of code for typical use cases like accessing a device's GPS or querying an employee directory. Developers can quickly incorporate this module into their applications, eliminating the need for them to repeat themselves. They don't have to build specialized code for a feature or capability that many apps demand, saving time and effort.

Components come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They can be used as infrastructure for your factory and can be used in multiple applications. They can also be stored in a public component repository, where many apps and developers can use them. Putting them in a repository benefits a lot of individuals in a lot of situations.

Different types of Component

Components can be dedicated to specific application levels, such as the back-end or the user interface(UI), in general.

There are various sorts of components for different layers of an application, including:

  • Themes establish the look and feel of the application through a set of style sheet rules and the grid specifications that determine how components on the screen are positioned and sized.
  • Additional and reusable functionality, usually linked to UI or events, is provided through widgets or blocks. Blocks must comprise a set of definitions, such as parameters and variables, to become components.
  • Libraries wrapped around blocks and actions that give a user-friendly interface. JavaScript libraries, for example, provide a fantastic front-end experience.
  • Connectors that enable integrations without the need for specialized code, saving time and money while also avoiding errors. Connectors, in general, allow the integration of other programs, such as Facebook or Paypal.
  • Plugins are add-ons that are loaded on software to improve its functionality.

How is Component Architecture helpful in Web Development?

React JS does not impose an architecture pattern, unlike other UI libraries and frameworks. It is simply a view that is customized to the user interface.

A tree of numerous React components may be found beneath the user interface. In general, a react component is the central structural unit — whether it's something simple like a button, label, or text input label, or something more complicated like a registration form, user profile, or something else entirely.

Now comes the fascinating part: all React components can hold a state, but it's not required. By state, we mean the data that must be tracked for the program to function. Furthermore, based on the actions done by your user, the state of your application changes from time to time. What appears on an application's UI is solely determined by the state of data.

The local state is an out-of-the-box feature provided by React. The mechanism, however, is insufficient in and of itself for usage in real-world applications. Redux and other state management tools come in handy in this situation.

Advantages of the Component Architecture

Components have a lot of advantages due to their structure and what they accomplish, which are reinforced by a component-based architecture. Here are the top three advantages.

Lower Maintenance Costs and More Control

Say goodbye to looking for other programs that may utilize identical code. Components allow specific bits of code to be centralized. Developers have more control over code because it is all in one place. And, if an update or a fix is released, every implementation of their code will be updated and bug-free without the extra effort that can make their dreams come true.

Now consider a component-based architecture. You, your team, or your teams will only have to debug, update, or test one implementation, significantly cutting your factory's maintenance costs. Dependencies are no longer a nightmare; rather, they are part of a process that can be managed.

To save time and money, faster development is necessary.

A component-based architecture decreases the number of developers required to swiftly create fantastic apps due to the reusability element, allowing your team to focus on more critical business objectives. Front-end components already have excellent UX and UI, while logic components are context-free. As a result, developers may concentrate on implementing(only) the glue between them following the application's business requirements.

Not only that, but non-functional requirements (NFRs) such as security, stability, performance, maintainability, scalability, and usability are all ensured. As a result, your developers only have to think about them once and can relax, knowing that performance, scalability, and security are all covered.

Furthermore, because there is always a DRI (directly responsible individual) accountable for maintaining and updating the components, everyone knows who owns them. As a result, change management processes are considerably more streamlined and simple to carry out.

Take the most of your Specialized Skills

Developers, in general, have particular talents. There are JavaScript gurus, CSS gurus, and.NET experts, for example. This does not rule out the possibility of your developers creating an application that requires talents other than their own. The beauty of a component-based architecture is that it allows you to do just that.

Developers can use this strategy to visit other developer communities and explore their repositories for the component that best fits their needs!

Some more advantages include:

  • The cost of development and maintenance is reduced using component-based design.
  • It is reusable, which means that it can be used to create reusable components to share development and maintenance costs over multiple applications.
  • It improves the overall system's reliability by reusing components.
  • The implementation is simple to maintain and change without affecting the rest of the system.
  • The use of a component container and associated services reduces the complexity.
  • If new compatible versions are available, replacing the existing versions is simple and does not affect the other components.

Characteristics of the Component Architecture

 

These are the characteristics of Component-based Architecture.

  1. Extensible: To add additional behavior to a component, it can be extended from other components.
  2. Replaceable: Components can be easily exchanged out for others of the same type.
  3. Encapsulated: Components expose interfaces that allow the caller to use its functionality while hiding the internal processes, variables, and state.
  4. Independent: Components are self-contained and unrelated to one another. It can be built with minimal external requirements.
  5. Reusable: Components that can be used in a variety of scenarios and applications.
  6. Not Context-Specific: Components are made to work in different locations and contexts. Instead of being included in or accessed by the component, specific information such as state data should be passed to the component.
    You can also check Instruction Format in Computer Architecture here.

Principles of Component Architecture

A component-level design can be represented using a graphical, tabular, or text-based intermediary representation that can be translated into source code. To help us avoid introducing errors, the design of data structures, interfaces, and algorithms should follow well-established rules.

  • The software system is broken down into components that are reusable, coherent, and encapsulated.
  • Each component has its own interface that describes the ports that are required and given; each component hides the details of its implementation.
  • A component should be able to be extended without requiring internal code or design changes to the component's existing pieces.
  • Components that rely on abstractions do not rely on other concrete components, increasing the complexity of expendability.
  • Connectors link components together, defining and regulating their interactions. The interfaces of the components define the type of interaction.
  • Method invocations, asynchronous invocations, broadcasts, message-driven interactions, data stream communications, and other protocol-specific interactions are all examples of component interaction.
  • Specialized interfaces for serving main groups of customers should be designed for a server class. Only those operations in the interface that are relevant to a specific type of client should be described.
  • A component can extend to other components while still providing extension points for itself. It is a plug-in-based architecture approach. This enables a plugin to provide a different plugin API.

Component-level Design

More Apps, High-Quality Content, and Less Time

Component-based architecture makes development easier, faster, and more reliable. Companies that have libraries of robust, ready-to-use components can cut project time in half. You can assure that a successful project sees the light of day much faster by employing well-thought-out components and current application platforms.

Using a component-based architecture not only speeds up production and delivery but also frees up resources to ensure a high-quality result. 

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is meant by Component Architecture?

Ans: 

  • Component-Based Architecture is a type of software engineering that goes beyond object-oriented design concepts to provide greater abstraction.
  • Communication protocols and shared states are not addressed in component-based architecture.
  • The decomposition of the structure into logical components, which contain events, methods, and properties, is the core of this architecture.
  • The component-based architecture separates the problem into sub-problems, each having its own set of component partitions.

 

2. What are the different views of a Component? 

Ans: An object-oriented view, a conventional view, and a process-related view are all valid views for a component.

  • The Object-oriented View

A component can be regarded as a grouping of one or more interacting classes. Every issue domain (analysis) and infrastructure (design) class is explained in a more detailed way to identify all of the features and procedures applicable to its implementation. It also involves the construction of interfaces that enable classes to communicate and collaborate.

  • The Conventional View

It is a program's functional element or module that contains processing logic, internal data structures required to carry out the processing logic, and an interface that allows the component to be activated and data to be provided.

  • The Process Related View

The system, in this view, builds on a library of existing components rather than creating each component from the beginning. Components from the library are selected and used to populate the software architecture as it develops.

  • Grids, controls, and utility components are all examples of user interface (UI) components that provide a part of the functionality required by other components.
  • Components that require a lot of resources aren't always available and must be triggered using the just-in-time (JIT) method are also frequent.
  • Many components of enterprise business systems and internet web applications, such as Enterprise JavaBean (EJB),.NET components, and CORBA components, are unseen.

 

3. What are the advantages of component-oriented software design over object-oriented design?

Ans: The advantages of component-oriented software architecture over traditional object-oriented approaches include:

  • By reusing existing components, the time to market and development costs are reduced.
  • Reusability of existing components improves reliability. 

Key Takeaways

In this blog, we went over the fundamentals of the component architecture. Component-based architecture facilitates development by making it simpler, faster, and more stable. Companies that have libraries of robust, ready-to-use components can cut project times in half. You can assure that a good project sees the light of day much faster by utilizing well-thought-out components and current application platforms. Using a component-based architecture not only speeds up production and delivery but also frees up the resources needed to assure a high-quality result.

Enroll in our Advance Front-end Web Development Course- React.js to deeply understand the concept of component architecture in React Web Development. 

Credits: GIPHY

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