Software Architecture: What Is It Really About? A Discussion with James Coplien

Dependencies are often seen as the foundation of software architecture. Some even argue that architecture is little more than managing dependencies. But is that really true? Inspired by one of Eberhard Wolff’s blog posts, an interesting discussion with James Coplien challenged this common assumption. Do dependencies matter as much as we think? If not, what is software architecture actually about? In this episode, we explore these questions and discuss what truly shapes software architecture in practice. Links * Blog: Independent? Impossible! Why Dependencies Matter So Much https://ewolff.com/2026/06/24/independent-impossible-why-dependencies-matter-so-much.html * Summary at LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/posts/eberhardwolff_independent-impossible-why-dependencies-activity-7475589431471685633-TGac * Cope’s comment https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7475589431471685633?commentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Acomment%3A%28activity%3A7475589431471685633%2C7475625074650148864%29&dashCommentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_comment%3A%287475625074650148864%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7475589431471685633%29 * Jimmy Koppel: How an Ancient Philosophy Problem Explains Software Dependence https://www.pathsensitive.com/2022/09/bet-you-cant-solve-these-9-dependency.html * Software-Architektur = Abhängigkeiten Managen? https://software-architektur.tv/2023/09/01/folge179.html * Programmierung als Theoriebildung https://software-architektur.tv/2026/02/27/folge304.html * Peter Naur: Programming as Theory Building https://pablo.rauzy.name/dev/naur1985programming.pdf