Clean Architecture with Domain Driven Design(DDD) in .NET 8 Microservices
We are going to see how to use Clean Architecture with Domain Driven Design(DDD) in .NET 8 Microservices.
I have just published course — .NET 8 Microservices: C# 12, DDD, CQRS, Vertical/Clean Architecture.
🎯 The Essence of Clean Architecture & DDD
Clean Architecture focuses on separating concerns into layers, ensuring that dependencies are directed outwards from the core business logic.
Domain-Driven Design (DDD) is centered around the domain model, which represents the business and its rules. It emphasizes understanding the business domain, creating a ubiquitous language, and aligning the software design closely with the domain.
You can find different Clean Architecture images like concentric circles, each representing a different layer of the application. Also you can see Clean Architecture layers in rectangles with dependencies.
And here you can find DDD layers and dependencies, very similar with CA.
Common Goals:
- Both aim to create software that is maintainable, scalable, and resilient to changes in technology and business requirements.
- They encourage practices that facilitate testing and clean separation of concerns.
🔄 Integrating DDD in Clean Architecture Layers
How do we weave these philosophies together, you ask? Imagine a grand ballroom, with Clean Architecture and DDD engaging in a harmonious dance. Clean Architecture lays out the ballroom with layers, each with its own role, from the core to the periphery. DDD then fills the ballroom with the lifeblood of the domain, ensuring each step, each movement, resonates with the domain’s rhythm.
💠 The Core and the Periphery
In this architectural symphony, the core is our sanctum, comprising the Domain and Application layers. This sacred center holds our business’s truths, untainted by the external world’s chaos.
The periphery, on the other hand, is where we interact with the outside world — the Infrastructure and Presentation layers. These layers are the emissaries of the core, translating its dictates into actions and responses understood by the world beyond.
🧭 Navigating the Layers
- Domain Layer: Here lies the essence of our business logic, abstracted and pure, a testament to the domain’s heart. It’s a fortress, safeguarding our business rules from the tempests of technology and infrastructure changes.
- Application Layer: This layer is the strategist, orchestrating the application’s flow, directing the domain’s commands, ensuring the core’s will is executed with precision.
- Infrastructure Layer: The tireless workhorse, this layer ensures the core’s commands reach the external world, whether it’s data persistence, network communication, or other worldly interactions.
- Presentation Layer: The face of our application, this layer interacts with the users, translating their needs into actions that the core can understand and respond to.
📚 Diving into Ordering Microservices with DDD & Clean Architecture
Our journey navigates through the core essence and periphery of the Ordering system, revealing the blueprint of a system designed for resilience, flexibility, and domain-centricity.
Our Ordering microservice is a beacon of modern software architecture, embodying the best practices of DDD and Clean Architecture. Here’s a glimpse into its structural essence:
- Ordering.Domain Layer: The bedrock of our system, where the heartbeats of our domain reside. This layer houses the Order and OrderItem entities, imbued with rich business logic and validations, standing proud without external dependencies.
- Ordering.Application Layer: The strategic command center of our microservice, where application contracts, behaviors, and features converge. This layer breathes life into our CQRS patterns with MediatR, orchestrating use cases like AddItemToOrder and ProcessOrderPayment with precision.
- Ordering.Infrastructure Layer: The robust backbone that interfaces with the world beyond, managing data persistence and external service liaisons. It’s here that the application layer’s contracts find their concrete implementations, ensuring seamless database interactions and external communications.
- Ordering.API Layer: The diplomatic envoy of our microservice, offering RESTful APIs and gRPC endpoints as conduits for external interactions. This layer serves as the gateway for clients to engage with the Ordering service’s capabilities.
🛠️ Tools of the Trade
Empowering our architectural vision are the trusted allies in our toolkit:
- MediatR: Our mediator in command handling, enabling a decoupled communication model within our Application layer.
- Entity Framework Core: Our trusted ORM, bridging our domain entities with the underlying SQL Server database, ensuring our data stories are well-preserved and efficiently managed.
🌟 Conclusion: Architecting for the Future
As we architect the Ordering Microservices with DDD and Clean Architecture, we’re not just building software; we’re crafting a legacy. A legacy that stands the test of time, adapts with grace, and serves the domain with unwavering fidelity.
I have just published course — .NET 8 Microservices: C# 12, DDD, CQRS, Vertical/Clean Architecture.
This is step-by-step development of reference microservices architecture that include microservices on .NET platforms which used ASP.NET Web API, Docker, RabbitMQ, MassTransit, Grpc, Yarp API Gateway, PostgreSQL, Redis, SQLite, SqlServer, Marten, Entity Framework Core, CQRS, MediatR, DDD, Vertical and Clean Architecture implementation with using latest features of .NET 8 and C# 12.
