Book Image

Software Architecture for Busy Developers

By : Stéphane Eyskens
Book Image

Software Architecture for Busy Developers

By: Stéphane Eyskens

Overview of this book

Are you a seasoned developer who likes to add value to a project beyond just writing code? Have you realized that good development practices are not enough to make a project successful, and you now want to embrace the bigger picture in the IT landscape? If so, you're ready to become a software architect; someone who can deal with any IT stakeholder as well as add value to the numerous dimensions of software development. The sheer volume of content on software architecture can be overwhelming, however. Software Architecture for Busy Developers is here to help. Written by Stéphane Eyskens, author of The Azure Cloud Native Mapbook, this book guides you through your software architecture journey in a pragmatic way using real-world scenarios. By drawing on over 20 years of consulting experience, Stéphane will help you understand the role of a software architect, without the fluff or unnecessarily complex theory. You'll begin by understanding what non-functional requirements mean and how they concretely impact target architecture. The book then covers different frameworks used across the entire enterprise landscape with the help of use cases and examples. Finally, you'll discover ways in which the cloud is becoming a game changer in the world of software architecture. By the end of this book, you'll have gained a holistic understanding of the architectural landscape, as well as more specific software architecture skills. You'll also be ready to pursue your software architecture journey on your own - and in just one weekend!
Table of Contents (14 chapters)
1
Section 1: Introduction
3
Section 2: The Broader Architecture Landscape
6
Section 3: Software Design Patterns and Architecture Models
9
Section 4: Impact of the Cloud on Software Architecture Practices
11
Section 5: Architectural Trends and Summary

API-driven architectures

Modern assets ship with APIs, but the notion of an API itself has changed over time. In the nineties, an API was some sort of client library you could use to interact with an application. In 2021, an API is a physical endpoint acting as a client interface that allows clients to interact with backend services. The form has changed but the purpose is the same. Both forms aim at facilitating integration scenarios and exposing application features to client programs. Yet, I have noticed that although developers are usually aware of how to develop backend services, they often lack skills in API management solutions that can be used for both internal and internet-facing APIs. API management solutions accommodate a few design patterns out of the box:

  • Backend for frontends (BFF): The purpose of a BFF is to propose an API that is tailor-made to a given consuming channel, such as a mobile application. The purpose is to satisfy the specific requirements of a given...