Monolith vs. Umbrella Apps vs. Microservices - Which, Why, and When? - Szymon Soppa - Elixir Meetup #16

Should you build a monolith, umbrella app, or microservice? By exploring the advantages and drawbacks of each approach, Szymon provides a comprehensive guide to help developers make informed decisions for their projects.

About Szymon Soppa

Szymon Soppa is an experienced developer and CEO at Curiosum. With a background in leading multiple outsourcing projects and founding a successful event discovery startup, Szymon brings a wealth of knowledge in software development and architecture.

The Importance of Choosing the Right Architecture

Maintainability

Szymon begins by emphasizing the importance of maintainability. Selecting the right architecture at the project's inception can prevent future headaches and ensure the application remains manageable over time.

Key Points:

• Long-term Maintainability: Avoid creating an unmaintainable project that makes simple features difficult to add.
• Team Considerations: The architecture should match the team's expertise and the project's needs.

Speed and Performance

Choosing the right tech stack and architecture can significantly impact an application's performance and development speed.

Key Points:

• Performance: Incorrect architecture choices can lead to slow, inefficient applications.
• Development Speed: Fast initial development is crucial, especially for prototypes and MVPs.

Architectural Styles in Elixir

Monolith

A monolith is a single, unified codebase. It is straightforward to set up and familiar to most developers.

Benefits:

• Simplicity: All components in one place, making development straightforward.
• Faster Initial Development: Quick to get started, ideal for early-stage projects.
• Familiarity: Most developers are experienced with monolithic architectures.

Drawbacks:

• Potential for Mess: Can become unmanageable if not properly maintained.
• Lack of Modularity: Tight coupling between components can complicate maintenance.
• Scalability Limitations: Harder to scale specific parts of the application independently.

Umbrella Apps

Umbrella apps allow for better modularity by grouping multiple applications under a single umbrella project.

Benefits:

• Modularity: Easier to separate concerns and manage different parts of the application.
• Better Scalability: Can create separate releases for different parts of the application.
• Flexibility: Allows for experimentation with different parts of the application.

Drawbacks:

• Dependency Management: Can become complex if apps have conflicting dependencies.
• Single Configuration: All apps share the same configuration, which can be limiting.
• Potential Overengineering: Risk of creating unnecessary complexity by splitting into too many apps.

Microservices

Microservices are independently deployable services that communicate over a network. They offer maximum modularity and flexibility.

Benefits:

• Modularity: Each service is a standalone application, making it easy to manage.
• Flexibility: Different teams can work on different services using various tech stacks.
• Fault Isolation: Failure in one service is less likely to impact the entire system.

Drawbacks:

• Increased Complexity: Managing multiple services requires sophisticated orchestration and state management.
• Infrastructure Overhead: Requires robust infrastructure to handle deployment and monitoring.
• Team Expertise: Demands a high level of skill and experience to implement effectively.

Choosing the Right Architecture

When to Use a Monolith

• Speed of Development Matters: Ideal for rapid development and MVPs.
• Team Inexperience: Suitable if the team lacks experience with microservices or umbrella apps.
• Product-Market Fit: Perfect for early-stage projects looking to validate concepts quickly.

When to Use Umbrella Apps

• Need for Modularity: When the project requires clear separation of concerns.
• Multiple Releases: Useful when different parts of the application need to be deployed separately.
• Experimentation: Allows for testing new features or services within a controlled environment.

When to Use Microservices

• Building Complex Systems: Suitable for large, complex applications with multiple teams.
• Scalability Needs: When different parts of the application need to scale independently.
• Experienced Team: Best for teams with experience in handling distributed systems and microservices architecture.

Conclusion

Szymon Soppa's presentation at Elixir Meetup #16 offers invaluable insights into the pros and cons of monoliths, umbrella apps, and microservices. By understanding these architectural styles, developers can make informed decisions that ensure their projects are scalable, maintainable, and efficient.

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