Architecture, distribution and integration
System context — C4-style
The system in its world: users, neighbouring systems, and the interactions at the boundary.
c4.context@1New DDN source
Why use it?
Every architecture conversation should be able to start on one page.
When it helps
Introducing a system to anyone new — the first diagram of any review.
How to read it
- The system is one box; everything interesting is what touches it.
- Arrows are responsibilities: who uses it for what, what it uses for what.
What you need
- The system name
- Its users and neighbours
- The boundary interactions
Things to check
- Do not show internals here — that is the container view's job.
- Do not omit a dependency because it is "just a library".
Scope of this diagram
C4-style equivalent: the visual idiom, not a C4 certification.
Work with the converted example
- Open the viewer and select
context. Inspect the rendered view and its source. - Open the designer. Keep the selected profile and inspect its legal palette and property controls.
- Change one displayed title or an appropriate data value. Apply the edit and check the resulting diagram.
- Run the verifier and review its diagnostics before moving complete content into review.
- Download your edited DDN source to retain the change.
The example uses the indentation-based ddn-next-1 dialect. The language guide explains reusable definitions, dotted data rows and explicit property blocks.