A software architect foresees potential issues in a design and judges which way will instill the most business success in the long run. Unfortunately, in almost every scenario, trade offs permeate every option. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Learning to anticipate problems with wisdom set great software architects apart from merely experienced ones. In this book, several experienced authors look at those trade offs in the context of distributed software systems that are so fashionable these days.
Distributed systems and microservices are used in large systems that integrate for innovative results. When the computing is parsed, each system becomes its own special service, and breaking up the systems with minimal “coupling” between them becomes a challenge. In addition, businesses inevitably need to see the big picture of their work. Integrating the distributed system must happen, but no perfect way exists to implement integration. These sort of challenges require the careful wisdom this work offers.
This book is extremely abstract because software architecture is abstract by its nature. It covers some of the most challenging topics in distributed systems. I chose to listen to an audiobook format and somewhat regret the choice. Instead, I would have preferred to read the book in print for several reasons. First, tables would be easier to parse. Second, some sections are lists of different combinations, and listening to these was extremely boring. Finally, the text is so abstract that I would have liked to hover my eyes over a word or look up past definitions. None of these are facilitated by an audiobook format, unfortunately.
The content itself is good, but it only addresses a niche audience. I’ve never designed a distributed system from scratch, so this text helped me think through potential pitfalls. Via these principles, I mentally redesigned some of the smaller systems I work with so that I could see what a more distributed system might look like if we ever have to go that route. This book is not an introduction to software architecture but meant for more advanced practitioners. Still, the careful thought dwelling in these pages can prevent shortsighted mistakes, cut lost employee effort, and lessen company expenses.
Software Architecture: The Hard Parts: Modern Trade-Off Analyses for Distributed Architectures
By Neal Ford, Mark Richards, Pramod Sadalage & Zhamak Dehghani
Narrated by Dena Dahilig
Copyright (c) 2023
Ascent Audio
ASIN B0CFVZTP97
Length: 12:53
Genre: Software Engineering
www.amazon.com