When we talk about how modern applications are built, one term shows up over and over: microservices.
The idea might sound like a trendy buzzword, but it’s actually a fundamental architectural approach that powers everything from Instagram to Netflix to Pinterest.
What Are Microservices?
Microservices are a way to structure your backend into independently deployable, small, and focused services. Each one is responsible for a specific business function, and each runs in its own process. They communicate with each other using lightweight mechanisms—often HTTP APIs, message queues, or event streams.
That’s the textbook answer. Let’s make it real.
A Pinterest Example
Imagine you're building Pinterest.
Instead of writing one massive application that handles everything from user logins to feed generation to photo uploads, you divide it up into smaller, more focused services.
Here’s how that might look:
- User Profile Service: Manages user data, bios, profile pictures, and preferences.
- Follower Service: Handles the logic around following and unfollowing other users.
- Feed Service: Assembles a user's home feed based on who they follow and what’s trending.
- Search Service: Lets users search for pins, boards, or profiles.
- Photo Upload Service: Takes care of receiving, validating, and storing uploaded photos.
Each of these is a microservice. They can be developed, deployed, and scaled independently.
If the feed becomes heavy with traffic, just scale the feed service. If the upload service needs a bug fix, deploy it without touching the others.
Microservices Live in the Application Layer
In software architecture, we often talk about layers:
- Data Layer (where the database lives)
- Application Layer (where business logic lives)
- Presentation Layer (where the UI lives)
Microservices sit squarely in the application layer. They hold the business logic and decision-making power of your app.
So in our Pinterest example, the logic for how a user can follow another, or how the search algorithm ranks pins, would live in their respective microservices. They're not UI elements. They're not databases. They’re in the middle—handling the "brains" of the operation.
Why Use Microservices?
Let’s say you started out with a monolithic app (everything bundled into one backend). That’s how many startups begin. It’s fast to build and easy to manage when your team is small.
But as your app grows...
- You want to scale parts of the app independently (only the photo upload part is under heavy load).
- You want different teams to own different areas (one team for search, another for user profiles).
- You want the freedom to write services in different languages (maybe Go for performance-heavy feeds and Python for AI tagging).
That’s where microservices shine.
If you're a software developer who enjoys exploring different technologies and techniques like this one, check out LiveAPI. It’s a super-convenient tool that lets you generate interactive API docs instantly.
LiveAPI helps you discover, understand and use APIs in large tech infrastructures with ease!
So, if you’re working with a codebase that lacks documentation, just use LiveAPI to generate it and save time!
You can instantly try it out here! 🚀
Top comments (0)