System

First we consider the following dictionary definitions of a system

• A system is an assemblage or combination of things, parts or components to form a complex or a unitary whole
• A group of interacting, interrelated, or independent elements forming a complex whole
• A functionally related group of elements....

For our purpose, a system is an collection of components operating together to achieve a unitary objective. Thus a system could be a basic collection of transistors and related devices in a vlsi chip, a complex multipurpose processor, a complete desktop or server computer system, a clustered database system or any other.

This definition should not be confused with that of an Enterprise which we shall define is short order.

A system is an essential outcome of the development of an architecture, it is both a building block as well as an end result.