Mendix and Microservices Architecture: How to Implement and Integrate

Mendix is a low-code development platform that lets you build mobile and web apps faster and at scale. This low-code platform features advanced integration capabilities and favors microservices that rely on integration. On the other hand, microservices architecture is a software development approach where apps are built as a suite of small, independently deployable, and loosely-coupled services. With the microservices architecture, each service runs a specific business process and communicates via a well-defined, lightweight process to serve unique business goals.

Implementing and integrating Mendix and microservices architecture provides numerous benefits. For instance, it improves application flexibility, scalability, and maintainability. But how do you implement and integrate Mendix and microservices architecture? Join us as we provide an in-depth guide to implementing and integrating Mendix with microservices architecture.

Implementing and Integrating Mendix and Microservices Architecture

Here are the steps to follow to implement and integrate Mendix and microservices architecture:

Step 1: Identify the Microservices

This is the most basic step to integrating Mendix with microservices architecture. It involves determining which components of your app can be broken down into smaller, independent services. At this stage, aim at creating loosely-coupled services with well-defined interfaces.

These steps can help you identify your application’s microservices:

• Assess your application. Evaluate your app and identify the different functions it performs
• Define the boundaries. Determine the boundaries of each function because each boundary represents a logical unit of work that can work independently.
• Identify the dependencies. Often different application components work together through dependencies to achieve the app’s sole purpose. Therefore, you should determine the dependencies between the boundaries of each function. Doing so helps you identify functions that can be broken down into microservices.
• Determine the communication protocols that will be used between the microservices. RESTful APIs or message queues, such as RabbitMQ, are commonly used communication protocols.
• Define data storage. Determine how each microservice data will be stored. Each microservice should have its database. However, you need to ensure that data is consistent across all databases.
• Determine the non-functional requirements, such as availability, scalability, and performance of each microservice. Tools like Kubernetes can help you manage the deployment and scaling of microservices.

Step 2: Develop the Microservices

Developing microservices involves developing small, independent services that perform a specific role of your app. As initially stated, each microservice should have its database and codebase and be able to run independently.

You can use various programming languages to develop microservices, including Java, Python, Node.js, and .NET. Ensure your microservices can effectively handle multiple requests and scale horizontally to manage the increased load, should you need to extend your services. Also, use containerization tools such as Docker and orchestration tools like Kubernetes to help you manage microservice deployment and scaling.

Step 3: Define the Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)

Define the APIs for each microservice. These APIs should be well-documented to allow the microservices to communicate seamlessly with one another and external systems. Also, they should be easy to use, scalable, and secure to avoid exposing your application to cyber threats or vulnerabilities. Therefore, you should set authorization and authentication mechanisms to prevent unauthorized access.

To define the APIs, use specifications such as Swagger or OpenAPI. These specifications offer a standard format for describing API requests, endpoints, and response payloads. As a result, they help you ensure that your APIs are easy to consume and well-documented. Defining APIs considering these factors improves the overall scalability and flexibility of your application.

Step 4: Build Your Mendix Application

Mendix provides numerous tools for building applications. This low-code development platform has built-in components, such as templates, logic, and modules, which can be used to rapidly create a fully functional application. Also, it uses a visual, model-driven application development approach, enabling both citizen developers and professional developers to create apps.

So, whether you have limited or advanced programming expertise, you can create an application with Mendix. The Mendix platform has two integrated development environments (IDEs) for building apps: Mendix Studio Pro and Mendix Studio. These IDEs let you create user interfaces, define data models and configure your application’s business logic.

Design your Mendix app in a way that it can consume microservices effectively. For instance, you can integrate the REST integration module available on the Mendix platform to consume the APIs exposed by the microservices. Also, ensure your Mendix app can handle multiple microservice responses and display the data accordingly.

Step 5: Integrate the Microservices

Once you’ve built your Mendix app, it’s time to integrate with the microservices you created in step 2. Integrating the microservices into your Mendix app involves connecting the various microservices you developed into the application and ensuring they work seamlessly together. This involves using the APIs exposed by the microservices to update and retrieve data from your Mendix app.

Mendix provides a simplified way of integrating the microservices. The platform’s REST integration module offers an easy way of consuming REST APIs. Also, consider using Mendix’s microflow engine to orchestrate calls to different microservices and handle possible errors.

What’s more, ensure that the data exchanged between your Mendix app and the microservices is consistent, and API calls are secure. Use the Oath or any other security protocol to secure API endpoints and ensure only authorized users access your API calls. Otherwise, it can jeopardize the entire application’s security.

Step 6. Test and Deploy

Once you’ve integrated your Mendix application and microservices, test it to ensure it works as expected. If it passes all your test criteria, deploy the app and microservices to your production environment.

Final Thoughts

Integrating Mendix and microservices architecture may sound like a complex process. However, you can easily implement and integrate your Mendix application(s) and microservices with the steps discussed in this article. Doing so ensures you build maintainable and scalable apps in a shorter period.