[Tex/LaTex] How to draw architecture with tikz

chartstikz-pgftikz-styles

I'm learning tiKz packages for the drawing of charts etc in LaTex but I have to draw an architecture that is quite difficult for me.

I need to draw the architecture in the figure below and, in addition, draw the modules in alignment.
Can anyone help me?

Best Answer

Probably needs some work and may not fit with your existing approach, but something like this might work:

\documentclass[tikz,border=10pt]{standalone}
\usetikzlibrary{positioning,fit,shapes.arrows,shadows}
\newcounter{module}
\setcounter{module}{0}
\renewcommand*\themodule{\Alph{module}}
\tikzset{%
  module/.style={rounded corners, align=center, font=\sffamily, thick},
  simple module/.style={module, top color=blue!10, bottom color=blue!35, draw=blue!75, text width=40mm, minimum height=15mm, drop shadow},
  square module/.style={module, draw=orange!75!black, minimum height=20mm, text width=20mm},
  long module/.style={module, draw=orange!75!black, minimum height=20mm, text width=50mm},
  combo module/.style={module, draw=blue!75!black},
  simple module/.pic={
    \stepcounter{module}
    \node (module \themodule) [simple module] {Module \themodule};
  },
  module down arrow/.style={module arrow, shape border rotate=-90, yshift=1.25mm},
  module right arrow/.style={module arrow, xshift=-1.25mm},
  pics/horizontal module/.style n args=2{
    code={
      \stepcounter{module}
      \coordinate (c) at (0,0);
      \node [module right arrow] at (c) {};
      \node (module \themodule-1) [square module, left=7.5mm of c] {#1};
      \node (module \themodule-2) [square module, right=7.5mm of c] {#2};
      \node (module \themodule-3) [below=1.5mm of c |- module \themodule-2.south, module] {Module \themodule};
      \node (module \themodule) [fit=(module \themodule-1) (module \themodule-2) (module \themodule-3), combo module] {};
    }
  },
  pics/vertical module/.style n args=2{
    code={
      \stepcounter{module}
      \coordinate (c) at (0,0);
      \node [module down arrow] at (c) {};
      \node (module \themodule-1) [long module, above=7.5mm of c] {#1};
      \node (module \themodule-2) [long module, below=7.5mm of c] {#2};
      \node (module \themodule-3) [above=1.5mm of module \themodule-1.north, module] {Module \themodule};
      \node (module \themodule) [fit=(module \themodule-1) (module \themodule-2) (module \themodule-3), combo module] {};
    }
  },
  module arrow/.style={single arrow, single arrow head extend=2.5mm, drop shadow, draw=gray!75, inner color=gray!20, outer color=gray!35, thick, shape border uses incircle, text height=1.5mm, text width=2.5mm, anchor=center},
}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
  \pic {simple module};
  \node [module down arrow] at ([yshift=-7.5mm]module A.south) {};
  \pic [below=27.5mm of module A.south] {horizontal module={Description 1}{Description 2}};
  \node [module right arrow] at ([xshift=7.5mm]module B.east) {};
  \pic [right=42.5mm of module B.east] {vertical module={Description 3}{Description 4}};
  \node [module down arrow] at ([yshift=-7.5mm]module C.south) {};
  \pic [below=27.5mm of module C.south] {horizontal module={Description 5}{Description 6}};
  \node [module down arrow] at ([yshift=-7.5mm]module D.south) {};
  \pic [below=17.5mm of module D.south] {simple module};
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

EDIT

This version adds a little more depth and tries to simplify placement somewhat:

\documentclass[tikz,border=10pt]{standalone}
\usetikzlibrary{positioning,fit,shapes.arrows,shadows,backgrounds}
\newcounter{module}
\setcounter{module}{0}
\renewcommand*\themodule{\Alph{module}}
\tikzset{%
  module/.style={rounded corners, align=center, font=\sffamily, thick, fill=white},
  simple module/.style={module, top color=blue!10, bottom color=blue!35, draw=blue!75, text width=40mm, minimum height=15mm, drop shadow},
  square module/.style={module, draw=orange!75!black, inner color=white, outer color=orange!75!black!5, minimum height=20mm, text width=20mm},
  long module/.style={module, draw=orange!75!black, inner color=white, outer color=orange!75!black!5, minimum height=20mm, text width=50mm},
  combo module/.style={module, draw=blue!75!black, inner color=white, outer color=blue!75!black!5, drop shadow},
  simple module/.pic={
    \stepcounter{module}
    \node (module \themodule) [simple module] {Module \themodule};
  },
  module down arrow/.style={module arrow, shape border rotate=-90, yshift=1.25mm, anchor=north},
  module right arrow/.style={module arrow, xshift=-1.25mm, anchor=west},
  pics/horizontal module/.style n args=2{
    code={
      \stepcounter{module}
      \coordinate (c) at (0,0);
      \node (arrow \themodule-1) [module right arrow, anchor=center] at (c) {};
      \node (module \themodule-1) [square module, left=2.5mm of arrow \themodule-1.west] {#1};
      \node (module \themodule-2) [square module, right=2.5mm of arrow \themodule-1.tip] {#2};
      \node (module \themodule-3) [below=1.5mm of c |- module \themodule-2.south, module] {Module \themodule};
      \scoped[on background layer]{\node (module \themodule) [fit=(module \themodule-1) (module \themodule-2) (module \themodule-3), combo module] {};}
    }
  },
  pics/vertical module/.style n args=2{
    code={
      \stepcounter{module}
      \coordinate (c) at (0,0);
      \node (arrow \themodule-1) [module down arrow] at (c) {};
      \node (module \themodule-1) [long module, above=2.5mm of arrow \themodule-1.north] {#1};
      \node (module \themodule-2) [long module, below=2.5mm of arrow \themodule-1.tip] {#2};
      \node (module \themodule-3) [above=1.5mm of module \themodule-1.north, module] {Module \themodule};
      \scoped[on background layer]{\node (module \themodule) [fit=(module \themodule-1) (module \themodule-2) (module \themodule-3), combo module] {};}
    }
  },
  module arrow/.style={single arrow, single arrow head extend=2.5mm, drop shadow, draw=gray!75, inner color=gray!20, outer color=gray!35, thick, shape border uses incircle, text height=1.5mm, text width=2.5mm, anchor=center},
}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
  \pic {simple module};
  \node (arrow AB) [module down arrow, below=5mm of module A] {};
  \pic [below=15mm of arrow AB.tip] {horizontal module={Description 1}{Description 2}};
  \node (arrow BC)  [module right arrow, right=5mm of module B] {};
  \pic [right=30mm of arrow BC.tip] {vertical module={Description 3}{Description 4}};
  \node (arrow CD) [module down arrow, below=5mm of module C] {};
  \pic [below=15mm of arrow CD.tip] {horizontal module={Description 5}{Description 6}};
  \node (arrow DE) [module down arrow, below=5mm of module D] {};
  \pic [below=5mm of arrow DE.tip] {simple module};
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] How productive are you with TikZ

I took one look at that diagram and thought, "Absolutely! Use TikZ.". I then thought of trying to typeset that diagram and seeing how long it took me - I would estimate about a 1/4hr to get something fairly close and then probably another 10 minutes to tweak things to how I wanted them (assuming that I didn't encounter either any hidden difficulties or any interesting behaviour - which would send me off on a tangent while I found out about it).

But then I decided that that wouldn't be helpful. In my "scratch" directory where I try out answers for this site, I have 502 tex files of which 306 match usepackage{tikz}. So I'm a little TikZ-obsessed! And so a straightforward diagram like that really shouldn't take me much time, otherwise I've been wasting a heck of a lot of time learning TikZ.

Rather, I'm going to explain why I use TikZ instead of a graphical package such as Inkscape. I think my reasoning is actually why I use a programming system rather than a graphical system, so would equally apply to PSTricks or other such.

Precision I'm a bit fanatical about getting stuff in the actual right place, not just what looks okay. Your diagram would look not so polished if the Maps didn't line up exactly - it might not be obvious why, but looking at it one would have a feeling of it not being quite right. It's easier to program precision than drag-and-drop it.
Repetition There's a lot that's the same in the diagram. Lots of pieces have the same style, the same layout. Again, it's easier to program these than drag-and-drop them. I expect that programs like Inkscape have lots of shortcuts for "apply the same style to all of these", but I'd also imagine that it's easy to miss out one aspect, or include one aspect too many.
Variation I'm never happy with how things turn out the first time. I frequently want to change little things until I'm happy with them. Being able to change just one thing and have a whole lot depend on that one change makes this much easier. So defining a style and changing that, or basing a sub-diagram at a particular coordinate, makes it easier to vary things until I'm happy.
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In conclusion, if you've only one or a small number of diagrams to do then the time saved/time spent lines may not cross for you. But if it's something that you'll do a lot, consider time learning to program your diagrams time well spent.

As this question is proving so popular, I thought I'd add a little more. Specifically, examples. A little while ago, I uploaded all the pictures I'd generated using TikZ for this site to Picassa (at least, I think they all use TikZ. Certainly most of them do.). You can see them at this link: https://plus.google.com/photos/110765980098077923527/albums/5659314316046158689?banner=pwa. A particular picture, which isn't there, which I think demonstrates where something like TikZ is essential is the following:

Rings of rings

Other examples abound in The Enchanted Forest.

[Tex/LaTex] Which LaTeX package is needed to draw radar-like diagrams

run with xelatex or latex->dvips->ps2pdf

\documentclass[border=12pt]{standalone}
\usepackage{pst-plot}

\begin{document}
\begin{pspicture}(-5,-5)(5,5)%             user coordinates (is cm by default)
\psaxes[labels=none,axesstyle=polar,ticklinestyle=dashed,tickcolor=black!40](0,0)(-4,-4)(4,4)
\psaxes(0,0)(-4,-4)(4,4)%                  for the labels
\psset{fillstyle=solid,opacity=0.5}
\pswedge[fillcolor=green]{2.2}{120}{150}%  radius;startAngle;endAngle
\pswedge[fillcolor=yellow]{1.5}{150}{180}
\pswedge[fillcolor=red]{1.25}{180}{210}
\pswedge[fillcolor=red]{1.8}{210}{240}
\pswedge[fillcolor=green!100!white!80]{1.5}{240}{270}
\pswedge[fillcolor=orange]{2.4}{270}{300}
\pswedge[fillcolor=magenta]{2.2}{300}{330}
\pswedge[fillcolor=cyan]{0.6}{330}{360}
\psset{opacity=1}
\rput*[r](0,-3){\textbf{\textsf{Test B}}}
\rput*[r](4.5;135){\textbf{\textsf{Test A}}}
\end{pspicture}
\end{document}

enter image description here

a legend can be done in several ways. For examples:

%% the legend (after the last \pswedge)
\pswedge[fillcolor=green](4.25;90){0.5}{70}{110} \rput(4.9;90){foo}
\pswedge[fillcolor=yellow](4.25;80){0.5}{70}{110}\rput(4.9;80){bar}
\pswedge[fillcolor=red](4.25;70){0.5}{70}{110}   \rput(4.9;70){baz}
\pswedge[fillcolor=blue](4.25;60){0.5}{70}{110}  \rput[b](4.9;60){foobar}