The architecture of the KhumaloCraft Emporium project follows a Multilayer Architecture with clear separation of concerns and a microservice-oriented design. The main layers of the application are structured as follows:
Presentation Layer:
KhumaloCraft.Web: This layer serves the user interface (UI) and is built using Razor Pages. It is responsible for handling user interactions and presenting data. By isolating the presentation layer, the user experience can be managed separately from business logic, allowing for more flexibility in UI changes and updates.
Business Logic Layer:
KhumaloCraft.BusinessAPI: This layer exposes an API interface that encapsulates business logic and processes. It ensures that business rules are centralized and can be consumed by various clients, such as the web front-end or other systems.
KhumaloCraft.Business: Contains the core business logic that drives the application, handling validation, decision-making, and processing of business-specific workflows. This separation allows business rules to be modified independently of the data and UI layers.
Data Access Layer:
KhumaloCraft.Data: This layer handles all interactions with the database or other data sources. By isolating data access, the application ensures that database logic is encapsulated, making it easier to modify or swap out data storage technologies in the future without affecting other layers.
Shared Libraries:
KhumaloCraft.Shared: This layer contains common components, models, and utilities that are shared across all layers of the application. It promotes code reusability and consistency across projects.
Dockerized Deployment
The project is containerized using Docker to allow for flexibility, scalability, and independent development. Two sets of Docker containers have been defined:
Container 1: KhumaloCraft.Web and KhumaloCraft.Shared are deployed together. This is because the web front-end needs to directly interact with shared models and utilities.
Container 2: KhumaloCraft.BusinessAPI, KhumaloCraft.Business, KhumaloCraft.Data, and KhumaloCraft.Shared are deployed together. This separation ensures that the API, business logic, and data access are tightly coupled in a modular container that can be scaled independently from the front-end.
Database Layer for Local Development
As part of the architecture, a database layer is included for local development, which is managed through the docker-compose configuration. This layer ensures that developers can quickly set up and work with a consistent and isolated database environment without external dependencies. The database is containerized alongside other services, ensuring easy deployment and repeatability across development environments.
By using Docker for the database in local development:
Consistency: The database environment is identical for all developers, reducing issues caused by differing local configurations.
Portability: The database can be easily set up on any machine using Docker, without manual installation or configuration.
Isolation: The database runs in its own container, ensuring it does not interfere with other local services or databases.
This approach allows developers to focus on business logic without worrying about database setup inconsistencies.
Justification for Architecture
This architecture was chosen for the following reasons:
Separation of Concerns: Each layer (UI, Business Logic, Data) is separated, promoting a cleaner codebase, easier maintenance, and the ability to make changes to one part of the system without impacting others.
Scalability: Docker containers allow different components to be scaled independently. For instance, if the API layer experiences high traffic, it can be scaled without needing to modify or scale the front-end.
Microservice-Oriented Design: The use of an API allows the business logic and data access to be exposed to various clients, including web, mobile, or third-party systems, providing flexibility in future expansions.
Maintainability & Flexibility: With this approach, developers can work on different layers (e.g., updating the business logic or data layer) without affecting the UI. This reduces the risk of cross-layer bugs and allows for more efficient team collaboration.
Dockerization: By using Docker, each part of the application can run in isolated containers, ensuring that dependencies, configurations, and runtime environments are standardized and portable across different development, testing, and production environments.
This architecture meets the requirements of KhumaloCraft Emporium for a flexible, scalable, and maintainable system while enabling easy deployment across different environments using Docker.
KhumaloCraft Emporium Project Architecture
The architecture of the KhumaloCraft Emporium project follows a Multilayer Architecture with clear separation of concerns and a microservice-oriented design. The main layers of the application are structured as follows:
Presentation Layer:
KhumaloCraft.Web: This layer serves the user interface (UI) and is built using Razor Pages. It is responsible for handling user interactions and presenting data. By isolating the presentation layer, the user experience can be managed separately from business logic, allowing for more flexibility in UI changes and updates. Business Logic Layer:
KhumaloCraft.BusinessAPI: This layer exposes an API interface that encapsulates business logic and processes. It ensures that business rules are centralized and can be consumed by various clients, such as the web front-end or other systems.
KhumaloCraft.Business: Contains the core business logic that drives the application, handling validation, decision-making, and processing of business-specific workflows. This separation allows business rules to be modified independently of the data and UI layers.
Data Access Layer:
KhumaloCraft.Data: This layer handles all interactions with the database or other data sources. By isolating data access, the application ensures that database logic is encapsulated, making it easier to modify or swap out data storage technologies in the future without affecting other layers.
Shared Libraries:
KhumaloCraft.Shared: This layer contains common components, models, and utilities that are shared across all layers of the application. It promotes code reusability and consistency across projects.
Dockerized Deployment
The project is containerized using Docker to allow for flexibility, scalability, and independent development. Two sets of Docker containers have been defined:
Container 1: KhumaloCraft.Web and KhumaloCraft.Shared are deployed together. This is because the web front-end needs to directly interact with shared models and utilities.
Container 2: KhumaloCraft.BusinessAPI, KhumaloCraft.Business, KhumaloCraft.Data, and KhumaloCraft.Shared are deployed together. This separation ensures that the API, business logic, and data access are tightly coupled in a modular container that can be scaled independently from the front-end.
Database Layer for Local Development
As part of the architecture, a database layer is included for local development, which is managed through the docker-compose configuration. This layer ensures that developers can quickly set up and work with a consistent and isolated database environment without external dependencies. The database is containerized alongside other services, ensuring easy deployment and repeatability across development environments.
By using Docker for the database in local development:
Consistency: The database environment is identical for all developers, reducing issues caused by differing local configurations. Portability: The database can be easily set up on any machine using Docker, without manual installation or configuration. Isolation: The database runs in its own container, ensuring it does not interfere with other local services or databases. This approach allows developers to focus on business logic without worrying about database setup inconsistencies.
Justification for Architecture
This architecture was chosen for the following reasons:
Separation of Concerns: Each layer (UI, Business Logic, Data) is separated, promoting a cleaner codebase, easier maintenance, and the ability to make changes to one part of the system without impacting others.
Scalability: Docker containers allow different components to be scaled independently. For instance, if the API layer experiences high traffic, it can be scaled without needing to modify or scale the front-end.
Microservice-Oriented Design: The use of an API allows the business logic and data access to be exposed to various clients, including web, mobile, or third-party systems, providing flexibility in future expansions.
Maintainability & Flexibility: With this approach, developers can work on different layers (e.g., updating the business logic or data layer) without affecting the UI. This reduces the risk of cross-layer bugs and allows for more efficient team collaboration.
Dockerization: By using Docker, each part of the application can run in isolated containers, ensuring that dependencies, configurations, and runtime environments are standardized and portable across different development, testing, and production environments.
This architecture meets the requirements of KhumaloCraft Emporium for a flexible, scalable, and maintainable system while enabling easy deployment across different environments using Docker.