Software Architecture — A Simple Criterion

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In the era of AI coding agents, representing and enforcing software architecture is easier than ever. The Locality Criterion defines architecture in the simplest terms.

Two side-by-side worked examples. Left: data reachable only through a proxy — new code bypasses the proxy, the specification breaks, so the property is non-local and therefore architecture. Right: an implemented Observer pattern — new code is added, the specification still holds, so the property is local and therefore not architecture.

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