Architecture description languages (ADLs) are used in several disciplines: system engineering, software engineering, and enterprise modellingand engineering.
The software engineering community uses an architecture description language as a computer language to create a description of a software architecture.
History：
1.box-and-line informal drawings
2.formal architecture description language
3.UML-based notation
Architecture, in the context of software systems, is roughly divided into categories, software architecture, network architecture, and systems architecture.
In summary, the primary differences of architecture and design are ones of granularity and abstraction.
Example:
Architecture description language
原文：http://www.cnblogs.com/yanyue/p/7527805.html