Many of us will have battled monolithic codebases. Some of us may have tried to improve the situation by replacing the monolith with microservices. But are microservices the silver bullet that will save us all from terrible codebases? Dave Cross thinks not and can prove it with science (or, at least, a joke or two).
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Talk
Summary: Monoliths, Balls of Mud, and Silver Bullets
Speaker: Dave Cross
Main Points
- Dave Cross discusses the concept of monoliths in programming,
likening them to the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- Monoliths, in the context of coding, are large, unwieldy pieces of
code written by inexperienced programmers and maintained by different
teams.
- Discusses the concept of microservices and how they are often seen
as the “silver bullet” to save us from monoliths.
- Discusses the concept of “balls of mud” - an even worse form of
monolithic code.
- Breaks down the false assumption that microservices will solve all
coding problems, stating there are no silver bullets in coding.
- Discusses the common mistake of retaining the monolithic database
while transitioning to microservices.
- Talks about the cost of microservices, especially when using
services like AWS.
- Gives advice for transitioning from a monolith to microservices,
emphasizing the importance of taking it one piece at a time.
- Questions and answers session about potential problems with the
transition, the creation of monoliths, and the management of “God
objects”.
Thoughts on the Talk
Cross gives a comprehensive and insightful analysis of the transition
from monoliths to microservices. His advice and insights stress the
importance of careful planning and step-by-step implementation when
transitioning to microservices. However, the talk could have included
more practical examples or case studies to illustrate his points and
provide a more concrete understanding of the topic.