Software Architecture Newsletter #5

Welcome to the 5th edition of the Software Architecture Newsletter!

In  this edition – BBC moves to the cloud, Scott Hanselman recommends great tools, NoSQL is dead – but not really, and more…

As usual, if you found something interesting that you think should be included here, or you have something to say about the content of this newsletter – drop me a mail at memi@memilavi.com

So, without further ado – here’s the 5th edition of the Software Architecture Newsletter.
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Architecture                                           

NoSQL is Dead, Long Live NoSQL  – We all know NoSQL. It’s massive, scalable, supports schema-less data, and its API is, well, not SQL. Recent developments in the field made NoSQL databases closer to the traditional relational (YesSQL?) databases, and almost blurred the lines between these two types of databases.
This article, published by Keshav Murthy in DZone, reviews the history and future direction of the NoSQL databases, and provides interesting insights on this fascinating industry.

Apache Kafka Fundamentals – We’ve all heard of Kafka. No, not the Franz one (well, OK, this one too…) but the messaging / streaming / queueing engine that’s wildly gaining popularity in recent years.
But Kafka is a complex beast, and moreover – it’s often used for jobs it was not designed for. And so – it’s extremely important to be well aware of what it can, and cannot, do.
I’ve recently stumbled across a great blog post in the Grape Up website, which does just that. It provides great background on Kafka, why it was needed, what it does, and how it does it.
So if you’re considering using Kafka, or even if you’re just curious about it – go read it. Highly recommended.

Stop Writing Server-Based Web Apps – So yes, this is quite a controversial title, and the content does not fall behind.
In this article, which admittedly is not very new, but I stumbled upon it only recently, David Neal argues that traditional server based web apps are a thing of the past, and that all new web apps should be based on the JAMStack.
Now, some will say this is just a rebranded SPA, some will say we’ve been doing that for years, and some will agree.
Anyway, I think it’s a worthy reading, and I urge you also to take a look at the comments. An iteresting debate is going on there.

Cloud                                           

Moving BBC Online to the Cloud – I love case studies, and this one does not disappoint. BBC Online is one of the most popular sites in the world, and for a good reason. It has content in 44 languages, and 200 types of content pages.
When BBC decided to move their site to the cloud, they had to set some principles for this journey. This article , the first in a series, describe these principles, and the logic behind it. Recommended reading for anyone considering moving to the cloud.

Microsoft Cloud for Retail – Microsoft announced its 2nd vertical cloud – the Microsoft Cloud for Retail. This vertical combines Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform and Microsoft Advertising to bring togehter disparate data sources via a common data model.
Microsoft didn’t disclose the pricing model of the new vertical offering, since it’s still in preview, but if you are in the cloud & commerce industry – I would definitely recommend to stay tuned here.
Read this ZDNet article about this new, interesting, offering.

Dev & DevOps                                                

15 DevOps Trends to Watch for in 2021 – DevOps is an extremely popular trend nowadays, and even though not everyone is entirely sure what exactly is DevOps, it’s still keeps evolving.
This post from Finextra tries to predict the leading trends of DevOps in 2021. It touches the basics, such as Microservices transition, but also go to the more advanced topics such as DataOps, BizDevOps and even, believe it or not, NoOps. 
Read the full post here.

Scott Hanselman’s 2021 Ultimate Tools – Scott Hanselman, one of the most colorful, and smart, figures in the software industry, made himself a habit: Every few years he published a list of developer and power user tools he regularly uses. As a huge advocate of productivity and open source tools, these lists generated a lot of interest and became a real treasure trove for power users and developers alike.
Well, it turns out the last list was published no less than 6 years ago!
So Scott decided enough is enough, and published a new one. If you have anything to do with development, no matter your specific role – you want to read it. Believe me.
Find the 2021 list here.

Discussions                                           

API Security – We all love APIs. Whether as architects, developers, and even product managers and QAs – API is almost always the way to go. But API security is something we don’t always like to deal with.  An interesting discussion broke up in our Facebook Group regarding this very topic. Kamran Shirzai asked for guidance around API security, and got a handful of advices.
Want to read them? Want to contribute your own? Do it here.

Winter Sale                                                    
Winter is beginning to fade, and the weather becomes warmer (well, fellow Texans might not agree with that… hang in there, guys!).
To celebrate that, I’m running a special Winter Sale, which offers all my Software Architecture courses for a very special discount, with prices ranging from 9.99$ – 11.99$ only!
Note that this sale is limited in time (5 days) and quantity (500 students), so hurry  up 🙂

Here are the direct links to the discounted courses:

The Complete Guide to Becoming a Software Architect

Software Architecture Security – The Complete Guide

Remember: only 5 days, only 500 students – don’t miss it!
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So, that was the fifth edition of the Software Architecture Newsletter (temp name).
I hope you enjoyed it, and feel free to suggest and comment on it, simply by replying to this mail.
Also, if you created a unique content you think can be included here – drop me a note!
Looking forward for your feedback!

Cheers,

Memi