Volume 10 - Issue 2
Micro-frontends: application of microservices to web front-ends
- Andrey Pavlenko
Innopolis University, Innopolis, Russia, Sitronics Telecom Solutions (MTS Group), Innopolis, Russia
a.pavlenko@innopolis.ru
- Nursultan Askarbekuly
Innopolis University, Innopolis, Russia
n.askarbekuly@innopolis.university
- Swati Megha
Innopolis University, Innopolis, Russia
s.megha@innopolis.university
- Manuel Mazzara
Innopolis University, Innopolis, Russia
m.mazzara@innopolis.ru
Keywords: web-development, frontend, micro-frontends, architecture
Abstract
This paper explores the concept of micro-frontends in web-development. Micro-frontends are the
logical evolution of architecture for the front-end side of web-applications. It was evolved in conditions
of continuous development browser platform that allowed to create rich applications that are
easy to distribute and deliver to the user and at the same time provide an experience close to desktop
applications. The article begins with an overview of how web-development and the architectural
approaches within it evolved, including emergence of micro-services concept in back-end development,
and existing researches on micro-frontends. Then, a case study on implementing the concept in
an actual project is presented and issues risen during development are discussed. Topics of routing,
static assets serving, and repository organization in the projects are discussed based on the experience
of development. As a result of the case study, the micro-frontends architecture is found to better suit
complex large-scale projects and big teams with experienced developers. The approach increases the
complexity of project structure and development. At the moment of publication, the community does
not have any ready-to-use solutions that can bootstrap the project and handle the additional complexity.