Software has become a strategic societal resource in the last few decades. The emergence of Free Software, which has enteredin major sectors of the ICT market, is drastically changing the economics of software development and usage. Free Software – sometimes also referred to as "Open Source" or "Libre Software" – can be used, studied, copied, modified and distributed freely. It offers the freedom to learn and to teach without engaging in dependencies on any single technology provider. These freedoms are considered a fundamental precondition for sustainable development and an inclusive information society.

Although there is a growing interest in free technologies (Free Software and Open Standards), still a limited number of people have sufficient knowledge and expertise in these fields. The FTA attempts to respond to this demand.

Contents:

• Introduction to software architecture
• Requirements engineering
• Description and evaluation
• Architectural patterns
• Patterns for enterprise applications
• Patterns for enterprise application integration
• Component software
• Design by contract
• Service oriented architectures