book

Cloud Application Architecture Patterns

by Kyle Brown, Bobby Woolf, Joseph Yoder

April 2025

Intermediate to advanced

650 pages

20h 7m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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List of Supporting Patterns
Why We Wrote This BookWho Should Read This BookWhat You Will LearnWhat This Book CoversWhat This Book Does Not CoverHow This Book Is StructuredO’Reilly Online LearningHow to Contact UsAcknowledgments
Phases of Cloud AdoptionModern Application DevelopmentAspects of Software DevelopmentEvolution of Application ArchitectureMainframe ApplicationDesktop ApplicationClient/Server ApplicationCloud-Native ApplicationPatterns and Pattern FormatOrganization of This BookRelationship of Root Patterns and ChaptersGetting Started
Introduction to Cloud ApplicationsCloud Computing DefinedCloud Computing PracticesCloud ApplicationConclusion: Wrapping Up Cloud Applications
Introduction to Application ArchitectureSoftware ArchitectureArchitectural Trade-OffsComponent TerminologyArchitectural PatternsBig Ball of MudModular MonolithDistributed ArchitectureConclusion: Wrapping Up Application Architecture
Introduction to Cloud-Native ApplicationCloud ComputingCloud NativeCloud-Native MaturityThe Twelve-Factor AppDesigning Applications for the CloudCloud-Native ArchitectureApplication PackageService APIStateless ApplicationReplicable ApplicationExternal ConfigurationBackend ServiceConclusion: Wrapping Up Cloud-Native Application
Introduction to Microservices ArchitectureMicroservicesMicroservices Architecture Versus Monolithic ArchitectureMicroservices and Cloud-Native ArchitectureArchitecting Microservices ApplicationsMicroserviceDomain MicroserviceAdapter MicroserviceDispatcherPolyglot DevelopmentSelf-Managed Data StoresService OrchestratorConclusion: Wrapping up Microservices Architecture
Introduction to Microservice DesignGuiding IDEALS for Designing MicroservicesDomain Modeling Techniques for Designing MicroservicesWhat’s the Right Size for a Microservice?Lower BoundUpper BoundFinding the Right Level of AbstractionModel Around the DomainUbiquitous LanguageEvent StormingDomain EventBounded ContextApplication ServicesContext MapAggregateRepositoriesDomain ServiceAnti-Corruption LayerConclusion: Wrapping Up Microservice Design
Introduction to Event-Driven ArchitectureA Motivating ExampleFrom Service Orchestration to Event-Driven ArchitecturePseudosynchronous and Asynchronous Service InvocationDecoupling Listeners from EmittersEvent-Driven Architecture and Cloud-Native ArchitectureDeveloping Event-Driven ArchitectureEvent ChoreographyEventReactive ComponentEvent NotifierEvent APIEvent BackboneEvent SourcingConclusion: Wrapping Up Event-Driven Architecture

Introduction to Cloud-Native StorageStoring Data for Cloud-Native ApplicationsArchitecting Applications with Cloud-Native StorageDatabase Topology and Database SelectionCloud DatabaseReplicated DatabaseConfiguration DatabaseApplication DatabaseRelational DatabaseDocument DatabaseKey-Value DatabaseGraph DatabaseColumnar DatabaseData ModulePolyglot PersistenceDatabase-as-a-ServiceCommand Query Responsibility Segregation (CQRS)Conclusion: Wrapping Up Cloud-Native Storage
Introduction to Cloud Application ClientsMultimodal User InterfacesSeparate UI and DomainPorts and Adapters (Hexagonal) ArchitecturePrinciples for Application User InterfacesArchitecting Applications with Multimodal ClientsClient ApplicationBrowser ApplicationWeb Form ApplicationServlet and JSP with Microservices and Interaction ModelsSingle-Page ApplicationMicro FrontendMobile ApplicationCommand-Line InterfacePublic APIInteraction ModelConclusion: Wrapping Up Cloud Application Clients
Introduction to Application Migration and ModernizationCloud Computing Service ModelsModernization and Technical DebtApplication FundamentalsCloud Migration StrategiesMigrating and Modernizing Applications in the CloudLift and ShiftVirtualize the ApplicationContainerize the ApplicationRefactor the MonolithStart SmallPave the RoadConclusion: Wrapping Up Application Migration and Modernization
Introduction to Strangling MonolithsStrangler PatternsStrangle the MonolithWrap the MonolithNew Features as MicroservicesTransform Monolith into MicroservicesHairline CracksExtract ComponentMacro ServiceRefactor then ExtractReplace as MicroserviceAddressing Challenging Areas in the MonolithMonolith to Microservice ProxyPlayback TestingConclusion: Wrapping Up Strangling Monoliths
What We’ve LearnedApplying What We’ve LearnedWhat Comes NextApplication DeploymentBuild AutomationContinuous DeliveryFinal Thoughts

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About the Authors

Kyle Brown is an IBM Fellow and vice president and CTO for the IBM CIO. He has been programming professionally since he was sixteen and has been focusing on design and implementation of large-scale enterprise systems for over thirty years. Kyle speaks at IBM and industry conferences, has written for multiple publications, hosts web chats, and records YouTube videos for IBM. He has also written ten books, including The Cloud Adoption Playbook (Wiley).

Bobby Woolf has worked with IBM clients and partners to help them develop enterprise applications deployed on cloud incorporating the latest best practices and technologies. Bobby has published numerous technical articles and presented at conferences, and has been writing patterns since the first Pattern Languages of Programming (PLoP) conference in 1994. He is an Open Group certified Distinguished Technical Specialist and a coauthor of a few books, including Enterprise Integration Patterns (Addison-Wesley).

Joseph (Joe) Yoder is a research collaborator at IME/USP; president and a fellow of the Hillside Group, a group dedicated to improving the quality of software development; and a founder and principal of the Refactory, a company focused on software architecture, design, implementation, consulting, and mentoring on all facets of software development. He is best known as an author of the “Big Ball of Mud” pattern, illuminating fallacies in software architecture. Joe is also a coauthor of A Scrum Book: The Spirit ...