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Software Engineering vocabulary · Architecture, Design Patterns and Graphics

Monolith

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/ˈmɑːnəlɪθ/nounCommon term

In software engineering, monolith means: An application built and deployed as one single unit, where all features share the same codebase and usually the same database.

In Turkish: monolit, monolitik uygulama, tek parça uygulama

How it is used

Often contrasted with microservices. A monolith is simpler to start with; problems appear when it grows and teams start blocking each other. People talk about 'breaking up the monolith' and a 'modular monolith'. The adjective is monolithic.

Example sentences

  1. We're slowly moving the billing code out of the monolith into its own service.

  2. For a team of four, a well-structured monolith is probably the right choice.

Common collocations

  • break up the monolith
  • modular monolith
  • monolithic application
  • monolith vs microservices
  • microservicesAn architecture in which an application is built as many small, independent services, each with one job, that talk to each other over the network.
  • architectureThe high-level structure of a software system: its main parts, how they communicate with each other and the key technical decisions behind them.
  • modularBuilt from separate, independent parts with clear boundaries, so each part can be understood, tested, changed or replaced without touching the others.
  • scalableAble to handle more users, data or traffic by adding resources, without a complete redesign and without becoming much slower.

More terms: Architecture, Design Patterns and Graphics

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