A monolithic Application is a software application architecture that is a single -a tiered application, where all the components of the application are tightly combined and packed together into a single large application. If said in a straightforward way, it is self-contained that handles all the aspects of that particular application from the user interface to the backend needs to data storage and fetching within a single code platform. This particular type of software application is generally used by developers who are used to traditional software development methodologies. This application is independent of all the other computing applications.
Typically, a monolithic application usually consists of components:
- Authorization: To give authorization to a user and allow them to use the application.
- Presentation: To handle Hypertext Transfer Protocol requests and respond with Extensible Markup Language or JavaScript Object Notation
- Business logic: The fundamental business logic that drives the application’s functionality and features.
- Database Layer: Includes the data access object that accesses the application’s database.
- Application Integration: Controls and manages the application’s integration with other services or data sources.
This is maximally used in the banking and financial industry, where features like user authentication, account management, transaction processing, loan management, and customer support are. Many Online shopping platforms also use this kind of application. These typically include various features such as user authentication, product search and browsing, shopping cart functionality, checkout, and payment processing. Though this application has been traditional it is still used in the biggest industries because monolithic programs have better throughput than modular applications. They are also easier to test and debug because fewer elements are used. It is said the monolithic approach is usually better for simple, lightweight applications. For frequent code changes or evolving scalability requirements, this approach is not at all suitable.
In a monolithic architecture, any changes made to one part of the application can have unintended consequences on other parts and it can be very difficult to scale or work with the individual components. These applications become more difficult to maintain and update as they grow in complexity.
