Monoliths versus microservices

Monoliths and microservices represent two distinct software development approaches, each with unique advantages and challenges. Monoliths are singular applications with a unified codebase, offering high performance but limited agility, typically requiring the entire application to be built, tested, and deployed together. In contrast, microservices break applications into independent units connected via APIs, facilitating greater agility, flexibility, and scalability, especially with advancements in cloud and container technologies like Kubernetes. Despite their benefits, microservices can introduce complexities such as increased API calls, documentation demands, and network-related issues due to their decentralized nature. Since gaining popularity around 2013 with the rise of containerization, microservices have become particularly well-suited for enterprise applications, offering the ability to iterate and scale efficiently, though they require careful management to navigate potential challenges.