Semantic search for software architecture knowledge: A proposal for virtual communities environment

Software architecture is crucial for the success of software development. Nevertheless, in many software projects the documentation of the architecture is a neglected activity. In this paper, we present a framework that enables the search for software architecture information in the artifacts generated in virtual communities for software development. A semantic search mechanism based on ontologies is used in the framework to retrieve not only architecture properties, but also the rationale behind decisions taken during the construction of the software.