Understanding the difference between monolithic and distributed systems is key to choosing the right architecture for your application.

Monolithic Systems

A monolithic architecture means that the entire application is built as a single unit. All components (UI, business logic, database access) run in the same process.

Pros:

• Simple to develop and deploy.
• Easier debugging and performance profiling.
• Great for small teams or MVPs.

Cons:

• Difficult to scale individual parts.
• Codebase becomes complex over time.
• A small change may require redeploying the whole system.

Distributed Systems

In a distributed system, the application is split into multiple services or nodes that communicate over a network. This includes microservices and serverless architectures.

Pros:

• Better fault tolerance and scalability.
• Flexibility in technology and deployment.
• Easier to isolate and update individual components.

Cons:

• Requires network communication and failure handling.
• More complex monitoring, logging, and testing.
• Deployment orchestration is more involved.

Use Cases:

• Monolith: Early-stage products, tightly-coupled features.
• Distributed: Large-scale, cloud-native, or high-availability systems.

Choosing between them depends on team size, application complexity, and long-term goals. Many teams start monolithic and gradually move to distributed as they scale.