Microservices explained - the What, Why and How?

What You Will Learn

• Understand the differences between monolithic and microservices architecture
• Learn how to break down an application into microservices based on business functionalities
• Discover how to manage code for microservices applications using monorepo and polyrepo approaches

Key Concepts

• Monolithic architecture: a single, self-contained application with all components developed, deployed, and scaled as one unit
• Microservices architecture: breaking down an application into multiple smaller applications, each responsible for a specific business functionality
• Loose coupling: a key characteristic of microservices, where each service is independent and self-contained, with no tight dependencies on other services
• Communication between microservices: can be achieved through API calls, message brokers, or service meshes
• Code management: monorepo (single repository) vs polyrepo (multiple repositories) approaches for managing microservices application code

Code Examples

No specific code examples are provided in the transcript, but the explanation of monorepo and polyrepo approaches gives an idea of how code can be organized and managed in a microservices application.

Lesson Summary

In this lesson, we learned about the concept of microservices architecture and how it differs from traditional monolithic architecture. We discussed the challenges of monolithic architecture, such as tight coupling and inflexibility, and how microservices can help overcome these challenges. We also explored the best practices for breaking down an application into microservices, including basing the breakdown on business functionalities rather than technical ones. Additionally, we touched on the importance of loose coupling and the various ways microservices can communicate with each other. The lesson also covered the two main approaches to managing code for microservices applications: monorepo and polyrepo. While monorepo can simplify code management and development, it can also lead to tight coupling and make it harder to scale individual services. On the other hand, polyrepo provides more isolation and flexibility but can be more complex to manage. By understanding these concepts and approaches, developers can design and implement more efficient, scalable, and maintainable microservices applications.

Practice Exercise

Design a simple e-commerce application using microservices architecture. Break down the application into at least three microservices (e.g., user authentication, product catalog, order processing) and describe how they would communicate with each other. Consider the trade-offs between monorepo and polyrepo approaches for managing the code for these microservices.

What Is Next

In the next lesson, we will dive deeper into the world of microservices and explore how to build and deploy them using containerization and orchestration tools like Docker and Kubernetes. We will also learn how to create CI/CD pipelines for microservices applications and deploy them to a cloud platform.