Since 2010, microservices architecture has gained widespread acceptance due to its flexibility and availability. Web services are also one of the most common approaches to application architecture. Nevertheless, companies choose different approaches for objective reasons. While these two technologies are similar to each other, they have significant differences. If you are a complete newbie to this topic, then you have probably heard these terms anyway. Since they are similar in popularity to cryptocurrencies. The choice of an architectural approach, in this case, can be compared with choosing the Best Crypto Exchange.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at each of the approaches. Besides, visit website for more information on the topic.
What are web services?
A web service is a software system, a service that exposes an API through requests such as HTTP. Suppose there are several applications that need to communicate between them. Web services help connect applications developed using different technologies so that they can interact through formats such as Jason and XML. One of the factors why this approach is quite popular is that they are not tied to specific programming languages or operating systems. Thus, the role of web services is to combine various programs into a single service-oriented architecture. There are two main types of them: SOAP and RESTful services.
The key components are:
- provider – the one who creates a web solution and provides it to the client for use;
- requestor – a client application that wants to communicate with a web service can be written using various programming languages;
- broker – an application that provides access to UDDI (a description tool to help client applications find web services).
Why do we need web services?
Modern software development is characterized by the use of a large technology stack. Business applications use different technologies for each component. Some applications can be developed using Java, while others can be developed using Angular and Node.js. Interaction is almost always required between these applications. And the problem is the difficulty of establishing communication between components of different nature. Web services solve this problem, providing a platform for applications to interact with each other.
Pros and Cons of web services
Advantages:
- Based on protocols and open standards, making it easier to debug and develop.
- Using HTTP or other protocols makes it possible to communicate through a firewall. This capability takes precedence over technologies such as Java RMI or CORBA.
- Regardless of the platform, they ensure the interaction of systems.
Disadvantages:
- XML text messages affect performance and network traffic usage over Java RMI or CORBA.
- Requires a deeper consideration of the security issue, namely coding, authentication. Developers should consider whether HTTPS is sufficient or alternative solutions should be used.
What are microservices?
Let’s take a look at the most popular approach to software architecture today. This approach is another variation on Service-Oriented Software Architecture. Its purpose is the interaction of several loosely connected blocks that can be scaled and changed. The difference from the first approach discussed is that microservices are elementary functions designed to perform a single task. Such blocks interact via network communication protocols. Flexibility and poor connectivity allow you to easily update and add components without harming the entire system as a whole.
Advantages:
- Faults are easier to detect as each block is responsible for its own function.
- Each module can be changed at any time since the key idea is deployment and update independence.
- You can apply various technologies, programming languages, OS to each of the blocks. You can choose the most suitable technologies for the task.
- Flexibility and speed allow you to easily migrate system or application parts to new technology or to refactor it to support new requirements according to Forbes.
Disadvantages:
- The more the project grows, the more modules appear, this entails an increase in the load, as long as each of the modules has its own database. Large applications execute many database queries at the same time.
- Establishing proper communication between modules can be difficult.
- Based on the business logic of the application, it is not always possible to divide the application into many functional units.
Conclusion
Summarizing everything said above, both of the approaches are worth noting not without a reason. The key difference between the solutions we’ve reviewed is that microservices only do one thing. While usually can take on more tasks. Each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages. And that’s why you shouldn’t chase popular solutions. Most revealing are the use cases that really show you that each approach is good under certain conditions.