Microfrontends, Microservices for the Frontend

Applying microservice patterns to the frontend yields microfrontends. With them, we get the benefits of microservices in the frontend.

impondesk

6 min read

New age Microservice design pattern, for front-end application to decompose a monolithic application into individual semi-independent micro-apps with simple single responsibility, audience-driven, easy to develop and maintain with iterative approach, enable many benefits such as independent deployments, migration and experimentation, and resilient applications.

Micro Frontend are not trying to replace component architecture rather its a technique that decouple between teams and decentralize responsibility of each feature/capability & controlled separately independent of other team members that are more manageable and independent lifecycle and even stack.

Micro front ends are an architectural pattern that involves breaking down a large front-end application into smaller, more manageable parts. Each part is developed and deployed independently, with its own set of responsibilities and functionality. In a micro front end architecture, each team can work on their own section of the application without having to worry about the impact of their changes on other parts of the application. This allows for greater flexibility, scalability, and faster time to market.

Web development is an ever-changing industry with new trends and technologies emerging every year. One of the latest trends gaining popularity is micro frontend architecture. This approach involves breaking down a web application into smaller, self-contained parts that can be developed and deployed independently. In this blog post, we will discuss what micro frontend is and how it can benefit web developers.

Decomposed & Iterative approach

With decomposition, decentralizing decisions to teams, a value-addition for organization and platforms as team lives and breathe with the product-teams and SME business experts without boundaries and constraints that sometimes are unnecessary.

Micro Frontend is change-in-game, Iterative approach for plan, design and deliverables and technology-independent and allows team to deploy pilot solutions and technologies for defined users and parallel implementation on upcoming features and roadmap as teams scope are changed to small rather than full single application.

Techniques, strategies and recipes for building a modern web app with multiple teams using different JavaScript frameworks. — Micro Frontends

The Future of Web Development

As the complexity of front-end applications continues to grow, the need for more flexible and scalable architectures will only become more important. Micro front ends offer a way to break down large applications into smaller, more manageable parts that can be developed and deployed independently. This approach can lead to faster time to market, improved performance, and reduced complexity. As such, we can expect to see more and more companies adopting micro front ends in the years to come.

Things to consider

  • Compatibility of UI Frameworks & versions support
  • Data & State Management
  • When-to-use guidelines, as it adds flexibility + complexity to platform

Advantages

One of the main benefits of micro front ends is the ability to independently deploy each section of the application. This means that updates and changes can be made quickly and with minimal disruption to the rest of the application. In addition, micro front ends can help improve the overall performance of the application by reducing the amount of code that needs to be loaded on each page. This can lead to faster load times and a better user experience. Finally, micro front ends can help reduce the complexity of large front-end applications, making them easier to manage and maintain over time.

Another main benefits of micro frontend is that it allows teams to work in parallel, which can save time and improve efficiency. Developers can focus on specific parts of an application without worrying about how it fits into the larger picture. Additionally, micro frontend can help with scalability, as different parts of an application can be scaled independently of each other. This can be especially useful for large applications that require a lot of resources.

Another benefit of micro frontend is that it can make it easier to maintain and update an application. Since different parts of an application can be developed and deployed separately, it can be easier to isolate and fix bugs. Updates can also be rolled out more quickly, as teams can focus on specific parts of an application without worrying about how it affects the rest of the codebase.

  • Scalable solution
  • Independent Development and Deployment — Cross-Team approach, Faster & Independent Team Development
  • Flexibility — Micro frontend architecture & design principles integrated existing web frameworks
  • Technology Agnostic — Rendering library agnostic (integrates with React, Vue etc.)
  • More comfortable Framework
  • Modular architecture with Apps
  • Progressive and easy to adopt in existing applications — Incremental Upgrade
  • Isolated Runtime — State is isolated between each child/sub-application and no shared runtime state.

Disadvantages

While micro frontend can provide many benefits, it also comes with its own set of challenges. One of the main challenges is ensuring consistency across different parts of an application. Since different teams may be working on different parts of an application, it can be difficult to ensure that the user interface remains consistent. Additionally, there can be performance issues if too many micro frontends are loaded on a page, which can slow down the user experience.

Testing & Deployment challenges for ensuring all units are in-force, includes the all capabilities without failures or break points

Frameworks available

  • single-spa JS - A javascript router for front-end microservices
  • Frint JS - Modular JavaScript framework for building Scalable & Reactive applications.
  • qiankun - Probably the most complete micro-frontends solution you ever met🧐
  • Bit - Bit is the simplest way to build composable software. Build and reuse components at lightning speed.

Conclusion

Micro front ends are a powerful architectural pattern that can help improve the scalability, flexibility, and performance of large front-end applications. By breaking down applications into smaller parts that can be independently developed and deployed, teams can work more efficiently and with greater agility. As the world of web development continues to evolve, it is clear that micro front ends will play an important role in shaping the future of front-end architecture. However, it does come with its own set of challenges, including ensuring consistency across different parts of an application and managing performance. As with any new technology, it is important to weigh the pros and cons before deciding whether to adopt micro frontend architecture in your own projects.

Continue exploring — https://getstarted.gitbook.io/micro-frontend/

References

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