Project SherlockEst. Knowledge

Essay

2014

Microservices: a definition of this new architectural term

James Lewis & Martin Fowler

Defines microservices by a cluster of common characteristics - independent deployability, decentralised data management - rather than a single rule, and argues the style trades simplicity for operational complexity.

Before you start

FreeEntrylink checked 17 Sept 2026

Groundwork for

Works in the library that name this one as a prerequisite.

Microservices: Yesterday, Today, and TomorrowNicola Dragoni et al., 2017Traces microservices back through SOA and component-based design to argue the style is an evolution rather than a genuine break, and surveys where the engineering challenges of testing, deployment and monitoring remain unsolved.

Filed under Distributed Systems in Computer Science.