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Contributed on April 16, 2020

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Microservices Development 2020: Acquaintance with Microservices Architecture for Efficient Code Reuse

Blog: NASSCOM Official Blog

Optimizing resource distribution to maximize the utility of essentials is, arguably, the core of Microservices Development. The distribution grade of current and future generation applications is a decisive factor for their quality. When loosely coupled components work in harmony to offer greater service, the application can realize its utility even in the international market. That is the reason that global enterprises like Netflix have their applications based out of Microservices Architecture. This decomposed, service-oriented architecture essentially works on breaking down the traditional monolithic apps to promote:

• Code reuse 
• More granular scalability
• Rapid development, testing and deployment

The code reusability feature here is a fascinating one. It alone can allow the organizations to minimize the dependencies between its different development teams. Moreover, code duplication is futile when the same code can be used to attain multiple functionalities. Ergo, it is worthwhile to explore more about this feature and understand how it can be milked for its maximum potential. 

Code Reusability and Challenges

The code reuse in microservices architecture enables the developers to write a code once and approach it multiple times at numerous points in the application. It can be  waged in two ways:

• Within a microservice: A piece of code can be reused multiple times within a microservice because of the wide range of functionalities it can help attain

• Between different microservices: Different microservices can access and employ the same code without having to replicate it.

 It is the latter of the two that may cause hiccups during the course of the development lifecycle. Using code between different microservices would actually mean that the reusable code will be shared among multiple Microservices development teams. This, if not handled properly, can outwit the teams into falling for dependencies, beating the ultimate purpose of Microservices. Without autonomy, the teams might as well work on monolithic applications. Here are some of the challenges that enterprises might encounter while trying to procure code reusability:

• Language Constraints: It is easy to maintain a code library that can be reused up to any desired number of times within a microservice. However, in case of multiple microservices, it becomes mandatory to have a uniform programming language for all of them. This is likely to go against the autonomy of multiple development teams

• Code Governance: Even if the developers manage to fetch the reusable code dynamically during runtime, it is necessary that all the sharable components are governed by one development team or the other. Having these components assigned to different teams will ensure code maintenance but will also encourage coupling.

• Standardization: Communication standardization is demanded among the different microservices for the code reusability to go seamlessly. However, maintaining this standardization can again go at odds with the development teams working on these microservices

As discussed earlier, it all boils down to the liberty of the individual teams. Microservices Architecture cannot compromise with the pledge of independence that defines its purpose. In such cases, the organizations might be forced to discourage its code reusability benefits. Though, having the architecture implementation guided by strong experience in Microservices can still maximise the potential of these assets.

Microservices for Microservices

Bloating the code reusability among different microservices without jeopardizing the self-standing of the development teams is a total win-win. The most effective way to achieve this is by employing microservices themselves to aid other microservices. The reusable components can be fed to independent microservices which can then be used by multiple teams via APIs. This means, the autonomy of the teams is intact and the need for governance and standardization will be minimal to negligible.

Having said that, experience with microservices will play a crucial role in this equation. Using microservices to enable reusability will need:

• API Versioning
• Strategies for Complex Business Transactions
• Resource Management and optimization.

Having handled these points skillfully, any organization can join the ranks of global enterprises with the power of Microservices.

Conclusion

Microservices Development can no longer be postponed. Facing the brutality of the market will not only require the organizations to be savvy with latest development architectures but also their maximum attainable features. Code Reuse is a productive tool that allows room for innovation while still saving the overall time to market. All that the organization needs to take care of is investing in proper experience and then sky’s the limit.

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