Domain-Driven Design at Vermont Code Camp 2012

Domain-driven design is a collaborative process involving both domain experts and software practitioners that attempts to address issues of complexity in software. This process is described in the book Domain-Driven Design written by Eric Evans. Domain-driven design starts with the assertion that complexity is in the domain, not in the technology. Accordingly, we must let technology play a supporting role.

A person practicing domain-driven design does not attempt to model reality. Instead, domain experts and software practitioners use a mental model as a tool for solving problems within a given domain. The domain experts and software practitioners collaborate to explore and develop this model. We will look at the concept of a bounded context within which models can be isolated and explored. We will talk about domain-driven design's building block patterns including entities, value objects, aggregates, repositories, services, and domain events. We will see how test-driven development can be used as a means of exploring the model.

Transcript

1. Domain-Driven Design A Collaboration Between Domain Experts and Software Practitioners
2. The Book http://domaindrivendesign.org/books/evans_2003
3. Training http://www.domainlanguage.com/
4. do·main \dōˈmān\ n. a sphere of knowledge, in uence, or activity "domain." Merriam-Webster.com. 2011. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/domain (17 October 2011).
5. Complexity is in the domain, not the technology
6. Case Study: Election Reporting
7. Elections and referendums are not as similar as they at rst appear Election winners may be determined by plurality and/or winning threshold Referendums can only be passed by meeting a winning threshold Elections vs. Referendums
8. Town Meeting Day (March) elections are very different than statewide elections (November) During statewide elections, voters may be voting in both local and statewide elections at the same time—each with different district boundaries District boundaries dictate reporting needs—statewide elections need to be reported one way, local elections another Local vs. Statewide Elections
9. Districts Some districts may contain only part of a municipality or ward The Chittenden-3-6 Vermont Representative District contains all of Winooski and part of Burlington’s Ward 1 Citizens in this part of Burlington’s Ward 1 vote in Winooski for statewide elections and in Burlington for local elections Audience expects both aggregate and detailed reporting Redistricting can occur between elections
10. Let technology play a supporting role
11. Models are tools used to solve domain problems
12. Ames Room Used in The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring to make the hobbits appear the correct size in relation to Gandalf We are always using mental models to understand the world around us—we do not perceive an objective reality By Alex Valavanis (own work) [public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
13. "Why I prefer Fahrenheit to Celsius [Fixed]." reddit. 2012. http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/wigk1/why_i_prefer_fahrenheit_to_celsius_ xed/ (16 September 2012).
14. Collaboratively explore the model with both domain experts and software practitioners
15. Case Study: Three-Dimensional Animation
16. Studied physics and computer science Made many notable computer graphics discoveries Eventually moved from two-dimensional to three-dimensional animation Hired by Lucas lm to bring his expertise to the entertainment eld Software Practioner: Edwin Catmull
17. Domain Expert: John Lasseter Studied animation and taught by veteran animators from Disney Realized early-on the potential for computer generated imagery Worked at, but eventually red from, Disney Hired by Edwin Catmull at Lucas lm as an “Interface Designer” because Catmull’s job didn’t include hiring animators[1] 1. Buckley, A. M. "Chapter 3: Art Meets Science." Pixar: The Company and Its Founders. Edina, MN: ABDO, 2011. 27. Print.
18. “Throughout the process, Lasseter worked side-by-side with the computer scientists. Lasseter’s requests pushed them to develop new tools, and their feedback helped him learn the digital animation process.”[1] 1. Buckley, A. M. "Chapter 3: Art Meets Science." Pixar: The Company and Its Founders. Edina, MN: ABDO, 2011. 30. Print.
19. Identify your core domain
20. Identify your core domain Distill your core domain Focus your resources on the core domain Core Domain
21. Collaboratively explore domain models
22. A model is an abstract set of tools that is used to solve problems within a domain While represented in code, do not think of the model as just code A “real world model” is a fool’s errand The model must be explored collaboratively with domain experts and software practitioners The Model
23. “The map is not the territory.” —Alfred Korzybski
24. Magritte, René. The Treachery of Images (La trahision des images). 1929. Oil on canvas. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California.
25. This is not a pipe. Magritte, René. The Treachery of Images (La trahision des images). 1929. Oil on canvas. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California.
27. "Everything simple is false. Everything which is complex is unusable." —Paul Valéry
28. There are always multiple models
29. Delineates the applicability of a particular model Bounded contexts allow each model to be explored in isolation Clearly de ne: • Who is responsible for each bounded context • To which parts of the application is the bounded context applicable • What manifestations the bounded context will take (code, database schemas, etc.) Document the interactions between bounded contexts with a context map Bounded Context
30. Ubiquitous Language Speak a ubiquitous language within a bounded context Terms must be clearly de ned, unambiguous, and consistent Critically important when communicating between domain experts and software practitioners The ubiquitous language will (and must) evolve as a progressively richer understanding of the domain and the model are achieved If the ubiquitous language cannot be used to clearly express complex ideas, then you have more work to do!
31. Exploring the Model
32. Ask a domain expert to tell you a story (the scenario) Propose a model Code the scenario using unit tests Repeat A Model Exploration Process
34. Use concrete scenarios in discussions with domain experts and in unit tests
35. Building Blocks
36. De ned by a thread of continuity and identity Only responsibilities should be around identity and life cycle May be composed of other entities and/or value objects Entity
37. Value Object De ned by its encapsulated attributes Treat value objects as immutable Delegate business logic to value objects
38. De ning an object as an entity or a value object is context-dependent
39. A group of related entities and value objects Useful when de ning transaction, distribution and concurrency boundaries A model will likely have multiple aggregates Aggregate
40. Aggregate Root Designate one entity as the aggregate root Allow external references to only the aggregate root Use unidirectional references within an aggregate root for less complexity • Example: Reference a line item’s order, or an order’s line items, but not both Maintain references on the “many” side of a “one-to-many” relationships for less complexity: • Example: Reference a line item’s order, rather than an order’s line items
41. Repository Delegate persistence of an aggregate root to a repository A repository should behave as if it were an in-memory data store If using an object-relational mapper (ORM): Database -> ORM -> Repository Use an in-memory strategy for unit tests Straddles persistence and domain layers, allowing you to stay focused on the domain model
42. Service A place for operations that aren’t naturally part of any domain object Like value objects, services should be immutable Operations on services are stateless
43. Command-Query Responsibility Segregation (CQRS)
44. Commands are responsible for changing state Queries are responsible for retrieving state A commands may delegate the actual state change to a domain event Commands & Queries
45. Write Model/Read Model De ne one model for writing data (commands) De ne another model for reading data (queries) Both models will likely share aggregate root entity identi ers
46. Event Sourcing[1] 1. http://martinfowler.com/eaaDev/EventSourcing.html
47. Domain Event Something important that happens within the domain that may lead to a state change in a domain object Domain events can trigger other domain events (e.g. three strikes triggers an out) Domain events are immutable Typically stored in an event log
48. Event Log Current state can be computed by reading the event log Retroactive events can be used to “ x” application state Current state may be cached, if necessary for performance Can also serve as an audit log
49. Supple Design
50. Have a method on a value object that returns an instance of the same type of value object Any method arguments should also be the same type as the value object Example: 2 + 3 = 5 • “2” is a value object of type integer • integer has an add method • add method accepts an argument of type integer • add method returns an integer • integers are closed under the operation of addition Closure of Operations
51. Other Techniques Intention-revealing interfaces Side-effect free functions Assertions
52. Strategic Design
53. Draw a context map of the current bounded contexts Map what actually exists—not what you wish existed! Identify relationships between contexts Context Map
54. customer/ supplier Relationship Patterns partnership shared kernel big ball of mud conformist anticorruption layer separate ways open host service published language
55. Distillation
56. A model my represent: • your core domain • a supporting domain • a generic subdomain Focus your modeling efforts on the core domain Consider outsourcing work on supporting domains Consider off-the-shelf software for generic subdomains Types of Domains
57. Identifying the Core Domain Ask organizational leaders and domain experts: • What keeps you awake at night? • What makes your system worth writing? • Why not buy it off the shelf? • Why not outsource it?
58. Don’t settle on not having access to a domain expert!
59. http://oreilly.com/catalog/9781449303129/ http://oreilly.com/catalog/9781449303433/
60. Thank You @BradleyHolt http://bradley-holt.com Copyright © 2011-2012 Bradley Holt. All rights reserved.