Pre-Read: Software Design Fundamentals

Required reading before starting the ADAPT module

Before diving into the Software Design Module(ADAPT), you'll explore the four fundamental principles that underlie all software design: Causality, Boundaries,Constraints, and Temporal Ordering. These principles provide a foundation for understanding why certain design patterns work and how to make better architectural decisions.

83 minutes total reading time
6 articles

What You'll Read:

1

Introduction: Why Software Design Needs First Principles

Understanding the foundation beneath patterns and frameworks

12 min read
2

Causality: The Central Principle

How clarity of cause and effect determines everything else

8 min read
3

Boundaries: The Geometry of Software Design

How drawing lines between concerns is the primary design primitive

15 min read
4

Constraints: Design as the Art of Limitation

How limitation creates correctness and makes systems trustworthy

14 min read
5

Temporal Ordering: Time as Software's Hidden Dimension

How time and sequence complicate design and how to manage it

16 min read
6

The Complete Framework

Synthesizing all four principles into a unified approach

18 min read

What You'll Learn:

  • How to evaluate designs objectively using first principles
  • Why certain design patterns work and when to apply them
  • How to diagnose problems accurately in existing systems
  • A framework for making confident architectural decisions

💡 Tip: Complete the pre-reading before the module starts to get the most out of the course material.