
Micro frontends with Stacker - backa
https://dev.betterdoc.org/stacker/2020/06/26/micro-frontends-with-stacker.html
======
cliftonc
This looks like a copy of an idea we built a few years ago
([https://github.com/tes/compoxure](https://github.com/tes/compoxure)) - still
in heavy use at my previous company, along with lots of other folks like
Zalando
([https://github.com/zalando/tailor](https://github.com/zalando/tailor)).

We ended up deciding that with the move to component based front end
frameworks (react, storybook etc) that the overhead of this wasn't worth the
benefits - every developer needs it running, along with lots of services etc.

I'd love to understand what others are thinking about composition on the front
end these days. I guess the fact this just got created means that the problem
we were trying to solve in 2014 still exists - so perhaps I have my answer?

~~~
Arnavion
It sounds like a much older Java thing called JSR 168 Portlets. I remember
briefly working with those in 2012, but Wikipedia says the spec is from 2003.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_Portlet_Specification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_Portlet_Specification)

[https://www.infoworld.com/article/2073645/introducing-the-
po...](https://www.infoworld.com/article/2073645/introducing-the-portlet-
specification--part-1.html)

Edit: Actually, given the timing, I was probably using JSR 286 Portlets 2.0
(2008).

~~~
backa
:) see my comment -- yes, portlets are a source of inspiration for some
things. As said, we need to share more to enable people to tell us if this
makes sense...

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fullstop
Stacker, to me, will always be the DOS hard drive compression software that
Microsoft stole. [1]

1\.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stac_Electronics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stac_Electronics)

~~~
jwr
I was about to write exactly that! I think it dates me.

~~~
fullstop
I remember installing it on a 20 megabyte hard drive, which I thought was
enormous, and then seeing so much free space the next time I typed "dir".

It truly was a magical time in my life, before I had the opportunity to work
with unix-like systems.

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pastelsky
Micro frontends seems like a technology that's similar to Electron in a way.
It gets criticised for its performance characteristics but there one can't
ignore the problems it tries to solve for medium-large teams — there is a real
need for it.

Once webpack 5 adds support for this, I see a lot more folks using it.

Like electron, the performance characteristics would continue to improve in
the long term, but may never be as efficient as hand rolling bundles.

~~~
chrisweekly
Got a link to the "webpack 5 and micro-fe" stuff? Thanks!

~~~
c76
Webpack 5 adds module federation, which to some extend solves our problems
with “too many people /teams depend on each other”. Doesn’t solve component
communication, but provides support for shared libs management.

Super popular currently.

Best is to start here I think:
[https://medium.com/@ScriptedAlchemy/webpack-5-module-
federat...](https://medium.com/@ScriptedAlchemy/webpack-5-module-federation-
stitching-two-simple-bundles-together-fe4e6a069716)

And the “official” doc: [https://webpack.js.org/concepts/module-
federation/](https://webpack.js.org/concepts/module-federation/)

~~~
chrisweekly
Thanks! I'm neck-deep in a webpack4 project right now. Any idea when 5 will
exit beta?

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aitchnyu
It reminds me of stateful services in .Net and Java. They break tabbed
navigation, back and refresh (they often come with explicit warning), freeze
and logout when the connection gets flaky, does weird things in case you were
logged out.

How will this win over autoscaled stateless web services?

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c76
I really like your ideas here, but it makes use of backend for orchestration
more than required in some situations. This nice demonstration of what you can
do in frontend with many different approaches could be interesting to compare
your ideas against, maybe?

[https://medium.com/ringcentral-developers/web-apps-micro-
fro...](https://medium.com/ringcentral-developers/web-apps-micro-frontend-
framework-with-support-of-webpack-module-federation-376e0b1ea6c6)

~~~
backa
Thanks for the link!

After giving it a first, quick read it really looks like a lot of similar
ideas are shared between Stacker and this framework.

Especially interesting for us is the separation between front ends on the
client side, which I still, after all these years, find downright hostile if
you need proper encapsulation of apps within one page.

Will take a deeper look!

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vsskanth
Would be nice to get a link to "Stacker"

Betterdoc.org website is in German. Hard to find info.

~~~
justkez
I was a bit confused given the recent launch of YC-funded Stacker
([https://stacker.app/](https://stacker.app/)) - given the sibling comment, it
sounds like another Stacker will be unveiled soon!

