# Project Architecture

## Architecture Overview

### Architecture Pattern
[Choose your architecture pattern: MVC, DDD, Microservices, Monolithic, etc.]

Below is an example using Domain-Driven Design. Replace with your chosen pattern:

### Domain-Driven Design Example
- **Domain Layer** (`/domain`): Pure business logic, no external dependencies
  - Entities: Stateful business objects 
  - Value Objects: Immutable domain concepts
  - Domain Services: Business logic spanning multiple entities
  - Ports: Interfaces for external dependencies
- **Application Layer** (`/application`): Use case orchestration
  - Application Services: Coordinate domain objects and infrastructure
  - DTOs: Data transfer objects for API responses
- **Infrastructure Layer** (`/infrastructure`): External integrations
  - Repositories: Database access implementations
  - External Services: Third-party APIs, payment processing, etc.
  - Adapters: Integration with external systems

### Alternative Architecture Patterns

#### MVC (Model-View-Controller)
- **Models**: Data and business logic
- **Views**: User interface components
- **Controllers**: Handle requests and coordinate between models and views

#### Microservices
- **Service Boundaries**: Each service owns its data and logic
- **Communication**: REST APIs, message queues, or gRPC
- **Service Discovery**: How services find each other

#### Clean Architecture
- **Entities**: Business objects
- **Use Cases**: Application business rules
- **Interface Adapters**: Controllers, presenters, gateways
- **Frameworks & Drivers**: External tools and frameworks

## Core Concepts

### Key Components
- **[Component Name]**: [Description of the component's responsibility]
- **[Component Name]**: [Description of the component's responsibility]
- **[Component Name]**: [Description of the component's responsibility]

### Core Domain Concepts
- **[Concept]**: [Description of what this represents in your system]
- **[Concept]**: [Description of what this represents in your system]
- **[Concept]**: [Description of what this represents in your system]

### Business Rules
- [Rule 1: Description of the business rule]
- [Rule 2: Description of the business rule]
- [Rule 3: Description of the business rule]

## External Integrations

### Third-party Services
- **[Service Name]**: [Purpose and how it's used]
- **[Service Name]**: [Purpose and how it's used]
- **[Service Name]**: [Purpose and how it's used]

### Internal Services
- **[Service Name]**: [Purpose and how it's used]
- **[Service Name]**: [Purpose and how it's used]

### APIs
- **[API Name]**: [Description and usage]
- **[API Name]**: [Description and usage]

## Code Organization

### Directory Structure
```
src/
├── [layer1]/         # [Description of this layer]
│   ├── [component]/  # [Description]
│   └── [component]/  # [Description]
├── [layer2]/         # [Description of this layer]
│   ├── [component]/  # [Description]
│   └── [component]/  # [Description]
├── [layer3]/         # [Description of this layer]
├── shared/           # Shared utilities and helpers
├── config/           # Configuration files
└── examples/         # Reference implementations
```

### Module Organization
- **Feature-based**: Organize by features (recommended for larger projects)
- **Layer-based**: Organize by architectural layers
- **Domain-based**: Organize by business domains

## Data Flow

### Request Lifecycle
1. [Step 1: How requests enter your system]
2. [Step 2: How they're processed]
3. [Step 3: How responses are generated]
4. [Step 4: How they're returned to the client]

### Data Storage
- **Primary Database**: [Type and purpose]
- **Cache Layer**: [If applicable]
- **File Storage**: [If applicable]
- **Message Queue**: [If applicable]

## Communication Patterns

### Internal Communication
- [How components communicate within the system]
- [Synchronous vs asynchronous patterns]
- [Event-driven patterns if applicable]

### External Communication
- [How the system communicates with external services]
- [API patterns (REST, GraphQL, gRPC, etc.)]
- [Authentication and authorization]

## Security Considerations

### Authentication & Authorization
- [How users are authenticated]
- [How permissions are managed]
- [Token management strategy]

### Data Security
- [Encryption at rest and in transit]
- [Sensitive data handling]
- [Compliance requirements]

## Performance & Scalability

### Caching Strategy
- [What is cached and where]
- [Cache invalidation strategy]

### Scaling Approach
- [Horizontal vs vertical scaling]
- [Load balancing strategy]
- [Database scaling approach]

## Development Guidelines

### Design Principles
- [Principle 1: e.g., "Single Responsibility Principle"]
- [Principle 2: e.g., "Open/Closed Principle"]
- [Principle 3: e.g., "Dependency Inversion"]

### Coding Standards
- Follow the repository pattern for data access
- Use dependency injection for better testability
- Keep business logic separate from infrastructure concerns
- Write unit tests for all business logic
- Document complex algorithms and business rules

### API Design
- [API versioning strategy]
- [Error handling patterns]
- [Request/response formats]

## Deployment Architecture

### Environments
- **Development**: [Description]
- **Staging**: [Description]
- **Production**: [Description]

### Infrastructure
- **Hosting**: [Where and how the application is hosted]
- **CI/CD**: [Continuous integration and deployment pipeline]
- **Monitoring**: [How the system is monitored]

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*This document describes the technical architecture of the project. Update it as architectural decisions are made or changed.*