Architecture specification in TODOS

In the design of an Office Information System, the Architecture Design is the process of defining an hardware and software configuration which is suitable for the realization of the information system. This paper introduces a formalI theory of Architectures and a system, called Architecture Specification System (ASPES), based on this theory, for the construction of office architectures. ASPES embodies the knowledge about hardware and software components and their compatibilities in the form of a procedural semantic network. This knowledge is made available by providing an interactive environment, accessible through a graphical interface, to incrementaly construct office architectures. In addition, ASPES guarantees that the Architecture being constructed by the designer is a feasible Architecture, that is it consists of components that can be effectively combined together.