Skip to main content

Microservices

 This week, we read an article called Microservices by James Lewis and Martin Fowler, which did a great job explaining the differences between monolithic applications and those that run on microservices (and the ones that use a little bit of both). They explained the advantages and pitfalls of implementing any of these methods, and they conclude that while microservice-based applications seem promising, it's still too early to tell whether they'll be better than monolithic ones. Luckily for us, this article was published in 2014, and we're far enough in the future to know that they are, in fact, more widely used today.

Before reading this article, I was already aware of these different types of applications, and I knew that the market had a preference towards microservice applications, but I hadn't realized how much this change had affected how businesses are run today. From personal experience, I belong to a cross-functional (XFN) team that dabbles in many different products, all of which are owned by somewhat-small teams. And while modifying the code, it's very clear that everything is very modular, which makes it easier to work with if you're not too familiar with the product.

However, I do also agree with their opinion regarding the team's skill level. I wouldn't consider myself to be too skillful as a software engineer just yet, since I'm still starting out and have a lot to learn. For this reason, it's sometimes hard to move between different products, because just as I'm getting familiarized with one of them, my time there ends and I have to move to another, which sometimes includes a new language altogether. 

I would have to agree, seeing the success of the businesses who have adopted this kind of application development, that in an environment like ours, with constant innovation and continuous delivery, it makes sense to switch over to a microservice-based approach, but it is important for companies to consider its implications and take the necessary steps to reduce risks involved with them. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is Design Dead?

 This week, we had to read Is Design Dead? by Martin Fowler. Just by reading the title, the thought of agile methodologies popped into my head, since they do involve design, just not as much as we're accustomed to. And not too surprisingly, Fowler reached a similar conclusion: design is NOT dead, it has just evolved along with us to keep up with today's standards.  Before, design was used to make sure that you knew everything you needed to get done, and it let you find any flaws in your plan beforehand. It was meant as an all-encapsulating process that all future code will be based on. Today, it has maintained its role as a guide, as to not make the developer feel totally lost, but with today's fast-paced work environment and ever-changing requirements, with the help of methodologies such as Extreme Programming, it has evolved to become more dynamic and easier to change.  For my personal opinion, I've had experiences (both academic and professional) where a bit of desig...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why is an architect?

  This week's (very short) article, Who Needs an Architect?, Martin Fowler explains to us the different definitions of architects that exist in the software world. The first and most common definition, which Fowler disagrees with, says that an architect is (s)he who helps identify what the most important parts of a project are, in order to give it structure. However, it is also mentioned that these parts are usually the most important because they are the hardest to change, so an architect's job should also include reducing the amount of these parts. Following the logic, by this definition, an architect's job is to reduce the amount of architecture.  The second proposed definition, which I also think I agree with, is that an architect's role is more like a guide's. His purpose is to help the team become better by using his expertise, and communicating with as much of the team as possible in order to remove their blocks. I think the word architect  still fulfills thi...
Post a Comment
Read more