Hey everyone! These days, there’s a constant debate in the software world: Microservices or Monolithic? You know, that famous question we all ponder when starting a project. Sometimes I wonder, what’s the reason everyone’s so obsessed with it? Maybe because it seems simple but actually hits the core of the issue, what do you think?
I remember a few years ago when I built a web project, I had everything under one roof. Everything was linked to the same code, database, and deployment process. Initially, everything was great, we were moving incredibly fast. We added a few modules, a few features, and it felt like a rocket. That initial excitement, you know? But then… things started to change a bit.
As we made updates, one change could affect another. A small bug somewhere could shake the whole system. Like a figurine toppling over at home and knocking things down underneath, that’s how my project started to become. And think about handing over this project to someone else or on-boarding a new team member, what would their first reaction be? Probably “Oh no!” 🙂
At this point, the new trend of microservices appeared on the scene. The idea that things operate as separate, independent services. Each service does its own job, has its own database, and its own deployment process. Like an orchestra, each instrument plays its own melody but together creates a mesmerizing symphony. Isn’t it nice?
The biggest advantage of this approach is scalability. If one service is under heavy load, you just scale that service alone. Without disturbing others. Or if a problem occurs in one service, the others can continue smoothly. Like a traffic accident where only one lane is blocked, not the whole road. This reminded me of a Google search result I saw recently, and the benefits were incredible.
Of course, nothing is perfect. Diving into microservices can complicate things. Managing communication between services, distributed system management, decentralized databases… These can be intimidating at first. Like learning a new foreign language, the words get mixed up initially, and the grammar rules seem complex. But with practice, it gets easier over time.
Back to monolithic architecture, it still has valid scenarios. Especially for small and medium-sized projects, rapid prototyping, and projects that need quick development, monolithic can still be very appealing. A single codebase, less complexity, faster start. Like choosing the quickest and simplest way to get somewhere initially. I found a good Wikipedia summary on this topic, you can check it out too.
So, which one should you start with? The answer varies based on your project’s size, your team’s expertise, and future vision. If your project is going to grow rapidly, have lots of features, and require parallel work by different teams, microservices can be a more logical investment. You might spend more effort initially but avoid headaches later.
But keep in mind, microservices have their challenges too. Managing service communication via structures like API Gateway may be necessary. For example, when a user requests information, the request might be distributed across multiple services and then combined. This can cause some performance loss. Like ordering a package where different couriers pick up from different locations, a bit like that. You can see good explanations on YouTube if you’re curious.
Both architectures have their pros and cons. The key is selecting the one that best suits your project’s needs. From my experience, starting with a monolithic and transitioning to microservices as the project grows and becomes more complex can be a good strategy. Like building a small house first, then adding on as needed.
Now, let’s get practical. Suppose you decide on microservices. The first step is usually setting up an API Gateway. This gateway receives external requests and routes them to the relevant services. For example, a login request goes to the Authentication service, and product details are forwarded to the Product service. When setting up these gateways, you can also check discussions on Reddit for interesting ideas.
These gateways typically communicate via RESTful APIs. Each service exposes its own API, and the gateway uses these APIs to interact with services. At this point, developing RESTful APIs with C# and ASP.NET Core is an excellent choice. Using ORMs like Dapper with PostgreSQL or MySQL databases for fast and efficient data retrieval and storage works great.
Imagine this code snippet: Suppose you have a Product service, and you want to fetch product information. It would have a GET method like:
public class ProductController : ControllerBase { private readonly IProductService _productService; public ProductController(IProductService productService) { _productService = productService; }
[HttpGet("{id}")] public async Task GetProductById(int id) { var product = await _productService.GetProductAsync(id); if (product == null) { return NotFound(); } return Ok(product); } }
This code only represents a product service. As you can see, it’s quite simple and understandable. It does its job well. Isn’t it beautiful?
In a monolithic structure, this code might be part of a much larger controller class with many methods for different features. But in microservices, everything is more insulated and focused.
Ultimately, there’s no clear winner in the microservices versus monolithic battle. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages. It’s crucial to choose the architecture that best matches your project’s scale, your team’s dynamics, and future growth plans. In my opinion, especially for large and complex systems, microservices are the architecture of the future. But remember, sometimes the simplest solution is not always the best, and complexity can be inevitable. So, what do you think about all this?