Prolog​

Using many small services, known as microservices, is a popular way to build applications. But, working with microservices can be very complicated. However, the complexity arises not from the Xbase++ business logic code - a domain in which an Xbase++ developer is highly proficient - but from the intricate infrastructure coding and knowledge required to operate these microservices. This is where Xbase++ Microservice Architecture (MSA) comes in. It's designed to make working with microservices a lot easier by hiding the hard parts.

The main idea behind Xbase++ MSA is to automate the important parts of building modern service applications. This means it does many tasks automatically, so developers don't have to do them manually. This saves time and makes things simpler.

In this article, we will talk in detail about the special features of Xbase++ MSA. We'll see how it manages settings and configurations, works well with Windows services, and can restart and recover services automatically if something goes wrong. We'll also look at how it keeps an eye on the health of processes, helps services find and connect with each other, and adjusts to handle more or fewer requests as needed.

So, this article isn't just about what Xbase++ MSA does. It's about how it makes working with microservices much easier and better for developers, especially in today's world where such technology is really important.

Windows service framework​

Windows Service Framework is a set of classes that allow developers to install, and manage Windows services. A Windows service is a type of application that runs in the background and provides functionality to the operating system or other applications.

Note: Windows services and microservices don't have a UI. The Xbase++ microservice framework supports execution of a microservice as a service or as a console process on the shell.

The framework provides benefits to developers in the following ways:

Ease of development: The framework provides base classes that simplify the development of Windows services by handling common tasks such as service start/stop/status install or uninstall, automatic firewall control.

Robustness: The framework provides a well-defined architecture for Windows services that ensures stability and reliability.

Scalability: The framework allows developers to create scalable Windows services that can handle a large number of requests and users.

Overall, the Windows Service Framework provides a convenient and reliable way for developers to create and manage Windows services, allowing them to focus on the business logic of their application.

Adaptive Process Health Monitoring​

Adaptive Process Health Monitoring for microservices is a technique used to monitor the health of microservices dynamically and adaptively. This technique involves monitoring various aspects of the microservice's health, such as its resource usage, response time, and error rate, and adjusting monitoring parameters in response to changes in the microservice's behavior.

Adaptive Process Health Monitoring typically involves the following steps:

Monitoring: Monitoring tools are used to collect data on various aspects of the microservice's health, such as its CPU usage, garbage collector workload, response time, and error rate.

Analysis: The collected data is analyzed to identify patterns and trends in the microservice's behavior. This analysis can help identify potential issues, such as resource constraints or performance bottlenecks.

Adaptation: Based on the analysis, the monitoring parameters are adjusted dynamically to better capture the microservice's behavior. For example, if the microservice is experiencing increased resource usage, the monitoring is performed with a higher priority/frequency to ensure a race condition is detected before the system stalls.

Alerting: If an issue is identified, alerts are generated which enforce a state transition of a single monitoring parameter or the entire service from normal to anormal and critical.

Adaptive Process Health Monitoring is important in general for microservices-based applications and specifically for Xbase++ MSA because it allows for proactive identification and resolution of issues before they become critical. With Xbase++ MSA that is all built in.

Automated restart and recover​

Microservice restart and recovery are important because they ensure the availability, reliability, and fault-tolerance of microservices-based applications. Microservices are designed to be loosely coupled and independently deployable, which means that a single microservice failure should not bring down the entire application.

Microservice restart and recovery are important for:

Availability: Microservice restart and recovery ensure that failed microservices are quickly restarted or replaced, minimizing downtime and ensuring that the application remains available.

Reliability: Microservices-based applications are often distributed across multiple instances and environments. Restart and recovery mechanisms help ensure that the system is reliable and performs as expected.

In summary, microservice restart and recovery are essential for ensuring the availability, reliability and fault-tolerance of Xbase++ MSA-based applications.

Discovery and Registry​

Microservice discovery and registry are important because they enable the dynamic and efficient management of microservices-based applications. In a microservices architecture, each microservice is designed to perform a specific function and communicate with other microservices through APIs. The discovery and registry of microservices help to manage the complexity of this communication by providing a centralized way of identifying, locating, and accessing individual microservices.

The Xbase++ MSA comes with discovery and registry built in for local and global scale scenarios. A local microservice can register automatically and is discovered automatically. No specific configuration is required.

The following are the primary reasons for microservice discovery and registry:

Dynamic service discovery: Microservices-based applications can have a large number of services, and new services can be added or removed frequently. Service discovery allows services to be dynamically discovered and located, reducing the need for manual configuration or hard-coding of service endpoints.

Load balancing: Service discovery can be used to implement load balancing across multiple instances of a service, improving the performance and availability of the application.

Fault tolerance: Microservice registry can be used to implement failover mechanisms and ensure that requests are routed to healthy instances of a service in the event of a failure.

Discovery and registry in Xbase++ MSA are important for managing the complexity of microservices-based applications and enabling dynamic, efficient, and fault-tolerant communication between services.

Request and Response scaling​

Xbase++ MSA request and response scaling are important aspects of a microservices architecture that help ensure that the system can handle large volumes of traffic, respond to requests quickly, and recover from failures quickly.

The Xbase++ MSA implements request/response scaling via its RestClient() as well Microservice() classes. The implementation is based on the meta data as outlined in service discovery RFC-6763

Here are some key characteristics of microservice request and response scaling and tolerance:

Scaling: Microservices architecture allows for horizontal scaling, meaning that multiple instances of a microservice can be deployed to handle increased traffic or workload. This helps ensure that the application can handle increased load without becoming slow or unresponsive.

Load balancing: To distribute traffic evenly across multiple instances of a microservice, load balancing is used. This helps to ensure that requests are routed to the most appropriate instance of a microservice, reducing response times and improving overall performance.

In general, microservice request and response scaling are essential for ensuring that microservices-based applications can handle large volumes of traffic, respond quickly to requests, and recover quickly from failures. By implementing these mechanisms, microservices architecture can be made more reliable, scalable, and performant.

Configuration Management​

In the context of microservices, configuration management involves managing the configuration settings for each individual microservice in the application, including its dependencies, runtime environment, and any other variables that affect its behavior.

Configuration management is important for microservices for several reasons:

Scalability: Microservices are designed to be scalable and can be deployed and run on multiple instances. Configuration management helps ensure consistency across these instances and environments, making it easier to manage and scale the application.

Reliability: Microservices often depend on other microservices, as well as external services and APIs. Configuration management helps ensure that all these dependencies are correctly configured and maintained, reducing the risk of service failures or downtime.

Agility: Microservices architectures are designed to be agile and responsive to changing business needs. Configuration management makes it easier to make changes to the application and its components without disrupting the entire system.

Compliance: Configuration management helps ensure that microservices are configured in compliance with security and regulatory requirements, reducing the risk of data breaches or other compliance violations.

From a MSA perspective configuration management stores data of one or more pieces of software depending on the context. Typical contexts are:
  • node: the host/workstation on which the software runs/installed
  • global: a set of software systems on different hosts
  • application: a piece of software, the microservice or application
  • binary: a component used by one or more software systems such as a DLL
Note: The Configuration Management that comes with the Xbase++ MSA can be used by any Xbase++ application, just add the asset to your project.

Key Advantages and Use Cases:​

All these outlined technical features and concepts of the Xbase++ MSA lead to a set of key advantages as outlined below.

Transition from Monolithic to Microservice Approach: Xbase++ MSA facilitates moving away from traditional, large-scale desktop applications (often referred to as 'monoliths') to more modular and manageable microservices.

Simplified Onboarding for New Developers: New team members can integrate more easily, as they don't need to comprehend the entire existing application. This modular approach allows them to focus on specific parts of the application.

Specialized Developer Roles Over Full Stack Expertise: The era of needing developers who are experts in every aspect of the software stack is fading. Xbase++ MSA supports more specialized roles, reflecting modern development practices.

Uniform Codebase for Various Deployment Scenarios: Whether deploying locally or over a network, the same code and logic apply, simplifying the development process.

Streamlined Deployment with Minimal Infrastructure Dependencies: Deployment is straightforward, requiring only HTTP/HTTPS protocols, thus reducing complex infrastructure needs.

Elimination of Common Network Issues: Problems associated with SMB/LAN, like opportunistic locking and directory cache issues, are no longer a concern. This leads to smoother network operations.

Enhanced Performance for Multi-User Access: Deploying microservices with data storage can resolve performance bottlenecks often encountered in multi-user LAN environments.

Improved Quality and Testing Through Defined APIs: The clear definition of APIs in the microservice architecture leads to higher quality software and more effective testing.

Reduced Need for Remote Desktop Licenses: The architecture’s design eliminates the necessity for additional remote desktop licenses.

Global Accessibility with Local Deployment: Microservices can be accessed remotely, enabling a global reach regardless of physical deployment location.

Ready for 64-Bit Transition: A significant challenge with modern desktop applications is the lack of compatibility of many add-ons with 64-bit operating systems. Transitioning to the MSA, however, simplifies this process. When segmented into isolated parts under MSA, an existing application allows for a mix-and-match approach. These components can be either 32-bit or 64-bit, offering flexibility and easing the transition to more advanced, 64-bit environments.

Summary​

The Xbase++ MSA (Microservice Architecture) is a framework that creates scalable and resilient microservices. It not only supports existing Xbase++ solutions but is also suitable for new, large-scale, mission-critical applications. Adopting this architecture signifies a strategic shift towards more efficient and adaptable software development practices, leveraging Xbase++ as the core business language. This approach indicates a paradigm shift in how applications are built and managed, enhancing both new and existing Xbase++ solutions.

It can not be emphasized enough, The Xbase++ MSA is for monolithic applications what Xbase++ 1.x*) was for DOS Clipper, dBase and FoxBase. A quantum leap forward into a new era.

*) Xbase++ 1.x was the world's first 32Bit native code compiler platform, with text mode and GUI, interchangeable database engines, automated multithreading, full object orientation, support for functional and procedural programming, and full data persistence.