System Architecture Rationale

Throughout this documentation we have stated or hinted at some of the rationale behind a lot of the design decisions. At the highest level we have three major concerns: data the system needs to track and store, business logic, and an interface to the system. This is a clear pattern for a layered architecture. By using a layered or three-tier architecture we gain the following benefits:

• Proven architecture for modern web applications.
• Distinct layers make future expansion easier. (i.e. multiple front-end applications may make use of the same REST API)
• Code separation for easier development and maintenance.
• Components may scale independently.