Computer programs and the way they get to users have changed since computers were first invented. Early programs were self-contained and delivered as a complete package. Many programs had a lot of features that people paid for whether they used them or not.
Today people call a lot of programs “apps” (short for application). Programmers can make apps that do a few things but work well with other apps. Also, the internet has changed how apps work, communicate, and even get updated.
The Role of the Web
In the past, everything a program needed to work had to be included in or with the program. Today, instead of having to include all the needed code with the application, developers can use code running on the internet to get work done. Many devices are connected all the time. When a program needs something (data for example), it can get the data from a program or database on the internet. This means that data doesn’t have to be included in the program.
Here’s an analogy. Suppose, in a time before mobile phones, you were on a television show where you had to answer quiz questions. You can bring any people or books you need to answer questions on five different topics that you’re given ahead of time. You can’t call anyone to ask questions or to look things up. In order to be able to answer questions, you’d have to bring all the experts and books with you to the show.
Now add a mobile phone. You don’t need to bring all those things with you. If you need to ask someone a question, you call them. If you want to look something up in a book, you look it up on the internet. You only access the information, people, and books when you need them.
Here’s the other cool fact about this. If you don’t need to use any of those resources, you don’t make a call or look anything up. Not only did you not have to waste time and energy lugging a bunch of books around you didn’t need. You also never even have to pick up the phone because you never needed to.
Small Code
Modern app programming works similarly. Small chunks of code, called functions, are on the internet and can be used securely to do work. If you have a banking app on your mobile device, your bank doesn’t have to include all your banking data on your phone. Rather, the app can securely call your bank’s database when it needs the data to show you and delete it from your phone when it doesn’t. This keeps your phone free from having to store too much data.
These little programs are called microservices. They’re a service because they do work. They’re micro because each bit of code tends to do one job. One service may get data. Another service may log you into a website. A third service may change your username or password.
By breaking code up in this way, it means programs can do more with less. A small base program can be extended by calling other programs on the internet. This makes the base program smaller, which means it uses fewer resources on your device, preserving your battery and saving space on your device.
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