Microservices Are Dying, A New Method for Module Division Based on Universal Interfaces

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new module division method based on universal interfaces to eliminate dependencies, enabling dynamic system modifications and proposing an architecture that surpasses traditional microservice and monolithic models.

Contribution

It presents a novel approach for module independence using universal interfaces, facilitating dynamic modifications and a new system architecture beyond microservices.

Findings

Demonstrates the EIGHT platform architecture with dynamic module management.

Shows that guaranteed module independence allows runtime modifications.

Proposes a universal interface pattern for module boundary definition.

Abstract

Although microservices have physically isolated modules, they have failed to prevent the propagation and diffusion of dependencies. To trace the root cause of the inter-module coupling, this paper, starting from the impact assessment approach for module changes, proposes a conceptual method for calculating module independence and utilizes this method to derive the necessary conditions for module independence. Then, a new system design philosophy and software engineering methodology is proposed, aimed at eliminating dependencies between modules. A specific pattern is employed to design a set of universal interfaces, serving as a universal boundary between modules. Subsequently, this method is used to implement a platform architecture named EIGHT, demonstrating that, as long as module independence is guaranteed, even a monolithic application within a single process can dynamically load, unload, or modify any part at runtime. Finally, the paper concludes that this architecture aims to explore a novel path for increasingly complex systems, beyond microservice and monolithic architectures.