For last few years I’ve been listening to software architects having conversations about frameworks that should be used and where. There are always different opinions. Heated discussions. At the end, decision is made that turns out to be a pain in the developer’s back.

What is framework?

Framework is the common piece of code that provides some generic functionality, that could be reused. All the frameworks are created with the aim of solving some kind of a problem. I like to think of frameworks as tools with default solutions.

In software development the multitudes of frameworks are great. There are testing frameworks, for writing your tests. Dependency Injection frameworks for all your DI needs. Multitudes of web frameworks for every possible programming language that could serve html.

Framework creation

I was involved in building up the frameworks. They were designed for specific technology, with the purpose of solving particular problem. Once they had been created, people thought of those frames to be good at solving any problems.

Unfortunately, those frameworks were designed to deal with few issues one had. It is possible that by chance you might deal with exactly same problem and the framework would suit you.

Framework on steroids

There are frameworks that became monsters. The architects of those, started with a simple idea and developed them into mammoth projects. Those frameworks are trying to solve all your problems. All they do at the end, is creating more.

Process of selection

As I mentioned earlier, one designed a framework to deal with a specific problem, that is why most likely, it will not solve yours in exactly 100%. During my development life I have learned that there is no single Software project that looks the same as the other.

That is why you should leave some room for yourself when you select a framework. Don’t rely entirely on all the framework features. Don’t bind yourself to one framework as well. If there is a way, try to shield yourself with some kind of abstraction, which can be easily manipulated into another framework.

Avoid frameworks on steroids. If you are going to go the route of it, you’ll end up hacking around it, or putting up with it and jeopardising your design.

One tool to rule them all

I don’t like to use one tool to solve many problems. I always compare it to a use of a hammer. You can perfectly drive a nail into a piece of wood with it. I’m sure you can as well cut a wooden plank with a hammer but unfortunately the result might not be as pretty as if you used a saw.

Simplicity is a bliss

According to Dr John Medina, human brain is constantly learning, trying to see patterns, matching them and generalise. This is what we tend to do when it comes to a software design. We often see patterns in places where there aren’t any.

I was once at a brilliant presentation delivered by Dan North on architecture design. The bottom line of it was, that we should take a step back and look at what we are doing as the solution might be much simpler without any fancy framework.

Greg