REST API Notes for 2015/06/22 - Much Ado About Microservices

In North America, summer is in full swing. That means that the pools are open, the temperatures are beginning to sore, and scheduling around vacations is a challenge. What hasn't changed, however, is the constant stream of RESTful API information.

There's been a tremendous amount of conversation in regards to microservices. Like many of the best buzzwards, microservices means different things to different people. Martin Fowler popularized the term in March of last year. Recent debate has focused on whether to build a new software system with microservices in mind or to start with a monolithic architecture, to decompose later. Those are great conversations, but what are these microservices? And who is using them?

Netflix is, perhaps, the foremost poster-child for microservice adoption. They had aggressively adopted the architectural model prior to the term gaining popularity and one of their chief architects was Adrian Cockroft (he has since moved on and is a member of Battery Ventures). He has published a a nearly 40 page PDF, entitled "Migrating to Microservices").

Another fantastic voice on the matter is one of Martin Fowler's peers at ThoughtWorks, Sam Newman. He has a newly published hour-long video available on YouTube entitled "Deploying and Operating Microservices".

Finally, I'll end with a conventional web article. Owen Garrett, writing on Infoworld, analyzes the Three Keys to Successful Microservices. He discusses why componentize, collaborate, and connect are essential steps and how to ensure they are implemented correctly.

That's all for now. Next time we'll be back to our eclectic grab bag of industries notes. Until then, however, enjoy exploring microservices!

Till next time, Matthew @libel_vox