By IT Brew Staff
less than 3 min read
Definition:
Monolithic applications are self-contained and independent of other applications; making any change requires updating the entire codebase before redeploying to users. These applications are relatively easy to build and iterate when they are small; processes like code maintenance and testing/debugging, for example, can be streamlined with a single codebase, and a single executable file can make it easy to deploy code.
However, as the development team bolts on more features, monolithic applications can quickly become extraordinarily complex, and integrating new technologies such as AI into these applications can require a complete overhaul of the existing codebase, which can quickly become arduous.
Despite those issues, many industries continue to rely on monolithic applications, such as financial services companies that want to consolidate multiple secure features like account management on one platform.
When building software, development teams may opt for microservices architecture over a monolithic application. Microservices architecture groups together independent modules or services with their own updates, debugging/testing, and deployment schedules; a development team can upgrade a particular module without worrying about the impact on the other modules, and they can scale modules as appropriate rather than having to upgrade the application as a whole.
But microservices can quickly add to “development sprawl,” with development teams needing to keep an eye on multiple modules with their own needs and issues, and that can quickly translate into a drag on resources. Debugging and maintaining multiple microservices, each with their own logs and issues, can also slow development time, especially if the development team has issues with communication and ownership. While many organizations opt for microservices, there are definitely cases where monolithic applications can help keep software operations simple.
